


angel boy, devil girl

by bitterepiphany



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Aruani Week, Birthday Fluff, Character Study, College, F/M, Flower Crowns, Flowers, Fluff, Manga Spoilers, Mental Health Issues, Romance, Smut, Suicide Attempt, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, aruani week 2021, boat seggs hehehehe, mario kart and smash chaos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-25 11:33:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30088452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitterepiphany/pseuds/bitterepiphany
Summary: my contributions for aruani week 2021 <3<3<3
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Annie Leonhart
Comments: 17
Kudos: 134





	1. Day 1 - Modern

**Author's Note:**

> this chapter does contain some explicit nsfw content!! if you're not comfortable with that kind of stuff, the start and end of the smut will be marked with a # if you just want to skip it <3

Annie grunted softly as she felt the weight of her bag. 

_Fuck._ She hoisted it awkwardly over her shoulder as she began her walk to Government. _Why did she have to buy this many textbooks when she didn’t even use half of them?_

Despite her slow pace, she arrived at the lecture hall with some time to spare. Setting her things down at her usual spot, Annie flipped through her phone absentmindedly, vaguely aware of the people filing into the room. She didn’t flinch as a bag was thrown roughly onto the desk next to hers, barely glancing over as a ruffled-looking girl fell into the seat.

“Hitch”, Annie acknowledged.

Her roommate groaned in response, patting at her hair in an attempt to smooth down what Annie suspected was the aftermath of one of her rushed tirades - make-out sessions hidden in the corners of secluded hallways with clumsily groping males that Hitch was slowly becoming infamous for. 

“Anniee~”, the girl crooned, turning to face her. “Uh, do you have a mint? Marlowe must have eaten something spicy for lunch…”

Annie raised her eyebrows at the girl, pulling out a tin of mints from her bag and handing them to Hitch. “Marlowe? I’m surprised, you usually don’t go for the same one more than once… he that good or something?”

Hitch hummed, shaking a couple of mints into her hand and chucking them into her mouth all at once. “Mmhmm, or something, I suppose. He’s actually really sweet, you know. Maybe he’s the one?”

“Right. I’ll believe _that_ when I see it.”

Annie was spared from her friend’s reply by Professor Smith walking in, tapping on the whiteboard loudly to get their attention. 

“Everyone! Pay attention please, even if it’s just for this moment!” he called out. The room quietened, heads turning to face him. “As I’m hoping all of you are aware, your presentations are due by the end of the week! Now I expect to see…”

Annie’s stomach had just lurched, and not in a good way.

_Shit._ She had completely forgotten about the stupid presentation, of all things. _Fuck._

It wasn’t even something she could whip up quickly after a couple of nights of cramming. Professor Smith expected _quality_ , and he was an expert at seeing through bullshit - Annie could attest to _that_ , after submitting a last minute paper on Policies earlier on in the year; she had received a pointed lecture from the man after class the day they got the marks back, about the importance of time management and putting your best into your work.

The rest of Smith’s speech went right over her head as she groaned and buried her face in her hands. What in the _fuck_ was she gonna do? This kind of assignment required _hours_ of research, the type that had you plugging terms into academic databases and scouring the library for a certain encyclopedia just so you could define one single, specific article of a policy. And luckily for her, Annie was _shit_ at using academic databases and searching for encyclopedias at the library. 

She raised her head and caught the eye of a boy sitting a bit further down the aisle to her left. Large, cerulean eyes widened in concern, as their owner tilted his head at her.

_Oh. It’s just Armin._

Annie forced her face into what she hoped was a reassuring smile (but was probably just a grimace instead), shaking her head slightly, and received a nod and shy grin in return. Annie shifted her eyes back to Professor Smith, still wondering how she was gonna pull this off. She hated asking for extensions, especially when she didn’t have any good excuse, apart from ‘ _Oh sir, sorry, I just forgot, you know… busy college student things, right?’_ She suppressed another groan. What a way to ruin a perfectly fine day.

_Wait._

Her head snapped back around to the left. The boy she sought was watching Professor Smith now, absentmindedly tapping a pen against his lips as he leant his elbows on his desk. Armin Arlert was the resident genius of their class. And that wasn’t even a joke. The kid was some kind of prodigy. And it didn’t help that he was basically an angel too, having a ridiculously kind and caring personality. Annie had never heard of him turning someone away who had asked for help; that wasn’t surprising though, given how many times she had seen him helping his dumbass best friend Eren Yeager with work. 

Annie hated asking people for help with stuff; there was some deep-rooted belief within her that it made her look weak, and looking weak was humiliating to her. But it was either this, or ask for an extension from Professor Smith, and she supposed out of the two levels of ‘ _how pathetic does this make me’,_ getting help from Armin was the lesser of two evils. 

Probably sensing her eyes on him, Armin glanced over at her. After staring at each other for a few seconds, he raised his eyebrows in a silent question. She opened her mouth, but, deciding against that, she raised her phone at him and tapped it. His eyes lit up in recognition, and he nodded. She turned back to the front, glancing down when her phone buzzed.

_Armin Arlert_

_-hey! what’s up?_

She unlocked her phone to type a response

_-could i talk to you after class for a sec about something?_

There was a short pause, where Annie stared at the small typing bubbles as they appeared, waiting.

_-sure! i’m getting coffee with mikasa after class, if you wanna join?_

Annie caught her lip between her teeth, chewing on it lightly. She could use a coffee, but she’d rather not ask for help with her assignment in front of _Mikasa Ackerman_ . Annie didn’t have anything against Armin’s other best friend, _not really_ , but she and Mikasa just didn’t seem to really get along. For whatever reason, they just never really saw eye to eye about anything. But Annie supposed she could tolerate the other girl’s not so subtle passive-aggressiveness for a little while.

The rest of the period dragged, with Professor Smith leaving them to work on their presentations. Annie tried to use the rest of the time to at least get _something_ half-decent ready so she didn’t look like a _complete_ slacker to Armin. After what felt like an eternity, the bell finally rang and Annie started gathering her stuff to leave.

  
  
“You coming back to the dorm?”

_Oh right. Hitch is still here._

Annie shook her head at her roommate. “Nah, I’m getting coffee with Armin, don’t wait for me.”

“Armin?” Hitch tilted her head curiously. “I didn’t think you were intere-”

“It’s not like that Hitch, god,” Annie interrupted, waving her hand at the girl dismissively. “He’s just helping me with the presentation thing.”

“Riight, okay then… oh!” Hitch tapped her chin lightly, eyes brightening. “How long will you be? I wanted to meet up with Marlowe again, and if the dorm’s gonna be empty…?”

Annie scoffed lightly, making to turn away.

“If you too are fucking out in the open when I get back, you can find somewhere else to sleep for a week.”

“Ooh thanks Annie~”

Annie made her way out of the hall, finding Armin waiting for her by the door. He smiled brightly at her as they made their way out. 

“Mikasa’s just across the campus in Japanese, I think, if you don’t mind,” he said.

“It’s fine.”

They made their way to the language block, which wasn’t too far, thankfully, and found Mikasa waiting in an adjacent courtyard. Armin called out to her, waving, and she looked up, a slight smile on her face. That smile fell quickly though, when she spotted Annie walking next to him.

“Hey, Armin. Annie.” she acknowledged, a slightly suspicious frown on her face.

Armin, ever the oblivious idiot, either didn’t notice or chose to ignore the sudden tension between the two girls, and explained to Mikasa. “Annie’s gonna join us for coffee, she wanted to ask me something.”

“Okay..”

At that, the trio made their way to the Sophomore designated dorms, their destination a small, hotspot of a cafe that was a pure godsend; it opened before classes started, and had saved Annie multiple times from zonking out in class after all-nighters. They arrived, ordered, and stood in slightly awkward silence, waiting, Armin glancing between the two girls occasionally. 

He probably expected Annie to ask him her question, but she hated the already judgemental eyes Mikasa was throwing her way, and didn’t think she could stand her aura of contemptuousness getting even worse if she knew Annie wanted help from Armin. Annie was given a slight reprieve when their orders were called, and they all sat a small table together. She remained silent as Mikasa and Armin started up a conversation, chatting idly about classes, plans for the weekend, and Eren.

Curious about the other boy, Annie spoke up. “Where is Eren? He’s usually always with you two, right?”

Mikasa shot her a glare, as if she had broken some rule by daring to talk about her adoptive brother, but Annie focused on Armin as he gave her a response.

“Oh, Eren, yeah he’d normally join us, but he’s got some catch up class thing for English Lit, right?” He glanced at Mikasa as he finished, looking for confirmation.

Mikasa hummed, nodding. The group lapsed back into an awkward silence. Probably sensing that Annie wanted to speak to Armin alone, Mikasa glanced at her phone, then stood up. 

“Sorry Armin, I’ve gotta go meet up with Sasha for something. See you tomorrow?”

“Oh yeah, that’s fine,” Armin replied, returning the smile that Mikasa sent his way. “See you!” 

Mikasa glanced at Annie, nodded, and walked away.

Armin turned his attention fully to Annie, blue irises meeting hers. “So,” he said, “What did you want to ask about?”

“Ah, yeah… it’s about the Government presentation thing,” she answered, eyes flicking to her hands wrapped around her coffee, a blush creeping up her cheeks. “Um, I… kinda forgot about it? So I was wondering if you could help me out on it a bit…” She trailed off, feeling embarrassed.

Armin took a sip from his drink as she spoke, and began nodding as she asked her question. He put his cup down, wiping at his mouth slightly with the back of his hand. “Yeah! Yeah I’d be happy to help you with that, Annie.” He kept nodding, glancing at his phone. “I haven’t finished mine yet, so we can help each other out!”

Annie was sure she would be no help at all to him, the complete genius he was, but she agreed, grateful he was willing to help, and not make it weird, like she feared. 

“We could go to the library tonight, if you wanted? And I can do the other nights before it’s due too, if you need it?” he suggested. 

Annie checked her timetable. “Yeah, that’s good for me,” she agreed, “I can meet you at five-thirty? I’ve just gotta drop some things at my dorm and change.”

“Okay!”

They finished their coffees quietly, content to sit and watch the bustle of students around them. Armin got up to leave first, reaffirming their meeting time later on before waving to her in a cute way, and walking off. 

Annie sat for a few more minutes, enjoying the breeze, before standing and making her way to her dorm. She approached the door, and banged on it loudly before she entered.

“Remember what I said about you two fucking, Hitch!”

“It’s fine Ann, we’re decent!” came the reply.

Annie pushed the door open, finding Hitch and a dark-haired boy with a pretty ugly bowl cut sitting on their small couch, watching some reality-tv thing on the television. 

“Marlowe,” she nodded at the boy.

“Hey, Annie.”

She wasn’t entirely sure what Hitch saw in the boy, if that haircut attested to anything, but he was pleasant enough. _Well, at least he knows my name._

Annie entered the bedroom, setting her bag down and pulling out the things she would need to study with tonight. She closed the door and shucked out of her jeans and blouse, opting for some more comfortable leggings and her signature white hoodie. Annie deliberated for a moment, glancing at the clock. Before she could change her mind, she sprayed some of the perfume that Hitch had forced upon her for Christmas. She wasn’t sure why, exactly, since she doubted he would care either way, but she wanted to look at least semi-decent for Armin. 

Stepping out of the room again, fingers carding through her hair as she did redid it, she chucked her water bottle into the sink with the intent to fill it up.

“I’m heading to the library to study,” she directed at Hitch, who hummed in acknowledgement. “I’ll get my own food, so don’t leave anything out.”

Gathering her things, she swung the door open, before pausing in the doorframe. Annie pointed an accusing finger at her roommate, wiggling it between Hitch and Marlowe.

“Same thing applies, if I get back and you two are out here, fucking-”

“Yes yes Annie, we get it!” Hitch waved her away, rolling her eyes. “Go have fun with Armin!”

Annie snorted, making her way to the library.

***

Two nights had passed, and now, on the third, Annie and Armin were sitting together, alone in the cluster of desks as they looked over their presentations. Armin had been a miracle worker, and Annie now had a fairly decent piece of work, if she could say so herself. They had worked damn hard the past two nights, and now they just had some formatting and editing to do - well, Annie did; Armin had finished his on the first night, he was just here for her now. 

Annie had gotten to know the boy more than she expected to in these past sessions. During their short breaks, they would chat about menial little things, but Annie enjoyed discovering these small details about him. She found out that what she had assumed was a side interest in the ocean was actually a full-blown obsession; he longed to become a marine biologist, but had always been pushed towards more ‘conventional’ career paths - things she considered to be ‘ _smart people_ ’ jobs, like an author, doctor, or lawyer. As a result, he was still unsure what he was going to do after he graduated. Annie also learned of his obsession with black coffee, a contrast to her preferred caramel lattes, and the fact that he owned a pet snake - a ball python named ‘Pinky’, of all things. 

In return, Annie let him in on little bits and pieces of herself. She told him about her love of martial arts, taekwondo, in particular, even showing him the impressive scar on her calf; the result of a nasty broken leg she got when still learning how to kick properly as a pre-teen. She even let him touch it, something she didn’t even do herself, feeling an odd shiver run up her body as his fingers traced over it, his eyes wide with fascination. After Armin learned of her sweet tooth, he had begun bringing a collection of sweets for her to snack on throughout the night, including her favourites - donuts. 

As a thank you for helping her out, she had treated him to dinner at the local McDonald’s the past two nights, which was just a short bus trip off campus. He tried to refuse, or pay for himself, but she rejected him, insisting that he had saved her the embarrassment of another Professor Smith lecture, which was worth far more than a couple of meals at the fast food place. 

She found his mannerisms charming; the way his eyebrows scrunched, and how his eyes got almost laser-focused when he was concentrating; how surprisingly messily he ate, getting burger sauce all over his fingers, and shamelessly licking it off his fingers afterwards, much to her mock displeasure; even the way he rubbed his neck and undercut when he got nervous or embarrassed. The night before, she just wore a t-shirt, with no jumper, and at the discovery that the night had gotten quite cold, Armin had given her his sweater to wear; it smelt like him, a pleasant mixture of that what must have been his cologne, and coffee - and, like a massive cliche, she had forgotten to give it back. 

Annie discovered something while she lay in her bed after these study sessions. She liked him. A lot. She would catch herself staring while he concentrated, oblivious to the world around him, and she wondered what it would feel like to run her fingers through his hair. A gross, perverted part of her mind admired the subtleness of his body, his lean physique hiding the surprisingly toned muscles she discovered when he just wore a snugly-fitting t-shirt under the sweater he leant her. 

This same part of her mind wondered what he sounded like when he moaned, wondered what his fingers would feel like stuffed inside her, making her come apart at his touch.

To her dismay, these perverse thoughts were at the forefront of her mind that night in the library, as she struggled to concentrate. At least Armin was in a similar situation, as they could both hear the steadily-growing-louder sounds of what she suspected was a couple having sex in between the bookshelves. 

Armin’s face was flushed red, and he stared fixedly at her computer screen in front of him, but Annie could tell he couldn’t concentrate. A too-loud-for-comfort gasp of pleasure echoed from their right, and he cringed. 

Yep. Definitely a couple fucking in the library. 

They continued like this for only another five minutes, before Annie abandoned all pretense of trying to work, hoisting herself onto the desk, shaking her head in the direction of muffled slapping skin.

“What, dorm room not good enough?”

Armin let loose a strained laugh, glancing up at her, embarrassed. 

“Uh,” he mumbled, scratching at his undercut, “I don’t think we’re gonna get any more work done, so… do you just wanna wrap up?”

Annie agreed, and they packed their things away. 

“I’ll walk you back to your dorm? We kinda ate a lot of those donuts… I’m not that hungry, are you?” he asked.

“Nah, me either. Thanks, though.”

They left the fornicating couple to their business and exited the library. They chatted aimlessly about things on the walk to her dorm block. As they turned down her hallway, Annie stopped suddenly, turning to him. He looked at her questioningly.

She swallowed, thoughts swirling in her head.

_Am I really gonna try this?_

“Are you a virgin?”

Armin’s reaction was immediate. His jaw dropped open slightly, and his face reddened, his obvious disquiet at the question further emphasised as his hand reached up to rub at the back of his neck. 

“Um…” he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “No, I’m not.”

It made sense, Annie supposed. They were in their early twenties, and he was a handsome young man. He probably had girls lining up for him.

“What about you?”

Annie’s eyebrows raised, surprised at his willingness to continue the topic.

“No,” she answered, “I’m not a virgin, either.”

“Ah okay… I wouldn’t have thought so, you are very beautiful, and…” He mumbled the words, eyes growing even wider and face reddening even more as he realised what he said.

Annie’s words caught in her throat. She gazed up at him, heart thumping. What came out of her mouth next was different to what she planned to say.

“You think I’m beautiful?”

He met her eyes finally, a wary look lingering in them.

“Um… yes, I do?”

Something within Annie, something holding her back, broke, and she surged forward, her free hand clutching at his shirt as she pulled him down and mashed her lips against his. His breath caught, and his hand snaked around her back automatically, pulling her closer. It wasn’t comfortable, Annie’s books digging into their chests, their height difference and her single free hand meaning their kisses were messy, gasping, and rushed. But he had lit a fire in her chest, rushes of electricity running along her skin at his every touch, and desire framed her vision, almost hazing it over.

Hand still tangled in his shirt, she pulled away, breathing heavily. He gazed at her in the dimly-lit corridor, pupils dilated. 

“My roommate,” she muttered, “She’s not there, she’s with her boyfriend, and -”

He just nodded, throat bobbing, and she shut her mouth, grabbed his hand, and pulled him down the corridor. She fumbled with her keys, cursing, startling when his arms snaked around her, his chest shaking with a soft chuckle against her back, and fit the offender into the slot in the door, swinging it open. She almost threw her books onto the dining table, kicking off her shoes, and turned back to him.

**#**

They lunged for each other again, lips crashing against each other in their rush to press their bodies together. Everything fit together now, the way he leaned over her so she wouldn’t have to tiptoe, the way his strong arms encircled her entire body, holding her close, the thickness of his hair as she ran her fingers through it. 

He moaned softly into her mouth as she ran her tongue across his lips, teasing them open, before delving into it. She felt his arms snake lower, then she was being lifted onto the kitchen bench, her legs straddling him automatically. His hands slipped under her - well, his, sweater, - she had worn it again to the session tonight, with the intention of giving it back; he had told her to keep it since it didn’t really fit him anyway - and her shirt, coaxing a soft groan from her lips as his fingers ran across her bare back. They parted with a slight _smack_ , and she lifted her arms in invitation.

“Are you sure?” he whispered, fingers pausing on the hem of her top. She nodded vigorously, hands jumping to his to encourage him onward. Armin pressed a quick kiss to her lips, before lifting both the jumper and shirt off her torso together in one swift motion. He stared at her for a moment, cheeks reddening as he beheld her. 

His intense gaze caused her to blush too, and she guided his hands back to her body. His fingers brushed over her bra’s clasp, and he hesitated. Annie wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a passionate kiss. “It’s okay, Armin,” she murmured against his skin as her lips migrated to his neck. He whined slightly at the sensation. “I _want_ you to touch me.”

His breathing grew even heavier at that, and he tilted her jaw upwards, exposing more of her bare skin. Sounds of pleasure escaped Annie as his lips suckled and nipped at her neck, - they would definitely both have hickeys in the morning - his hands working to unclasp her bra. After a tense second, it came free, and it too joined the shirt and sweater wherever he had tossed it behind them. 

Armin didn’t hesitate this time as he cupped her breasts in both hands. She whimpered as he kneaded them, pupils dilated so far there was more black than blue in his irises. Slowly, tortuously, he left a trail of kisses down her jaw, to her neck, her collarbone, then finally, her chest. His lips encircled one of her nipples, and he gently sucked. Annie’s back arched against him, a loud cry escaping her mouth. He continued to work her breasts, alternating between sucking on each nipple, rubbing the pointed nubs between his fingers, and kneading the soft flesh in his hands, all the while eliciting those loud, needy moans from Annie.

As Armin pressed against her, she could feel his hardened length between his legs, reminding her of how _wet_ she had become. The burning ache of desire between her legs only grew worse as he captured his lips with hers again, a soft groan coming from him as she pushed her crotch against his erection. Armin pulled away from her, meeting her eyes. Annie nodded at the silent question in his eyes. 

His arms tightened around her, and he lifted her off the counter, walking over to her bedroom. He entered, pausing slightly. 

“Left one,” she mumbled into his shoulder, sensing him looking at the two beds. Armin made his way to it, depositing her gently on her mattress. Annie watched, very aroused, as he pulled off his shirt and stepped out of his pants. Then he froze, hand coming to rest over his mouth.

“I don’t have a condom.”

Annie relaxed, scared for a moment that he was having second thoughts. She shook her head lightly at him. “It’s okay,” she reassured, “I’m on the pill.”

The discomfort still didn’t leave his face. “Yeah but…”

She quietened his protests by lunging forward, hooking her fingers in his briefs, and pulled them down, freeing his erection. He sucked in a breath as she stared at it for a moment, admiring how _nice_ it was. Gently, she wrapped her fingers around his length, and pumped. Armin let loose an almost guttural sounding groan at that, hips jerking up to increase the friction. 

Annie grabbed his hip with her free hand and guided him onto the bed. She lay him down, all the while stroking his cock, before shuffling down, resting her head on his stomach. A bead of pre-come leaked out of the tip, and she ran her thumb ober the tip, smearing it. Armin’s hips jerked slightly, a soft moan escaping him. She glanced up at him. He was watching her with half-lidded eyes, heavy with lust. 

Maintaining eye contact with him, Annie lowered her head slowly, and slipped her lips around his tip, sucking lightly. Armin shuddered, one of his arms coming up to cover his flaming face, eyes shuttering. She lowered her mouth along his length, tonguing the head. She set a steady pace, bobbing up and down, one hand wrapped around the base, the other alternating between squeezing his thighs, and reaching up and fondling his balls. 

“Annie,” he groaned after a little while, “I’m - _ugh_ \- I’m not gonna last if you keep doing that..!”

Annie raised her head, releasing his cock with a slight _pop,_ swallowing the build up of saliva in her throat. His hands caught her face, and he pulled her into him for another kiss, hands sliding down to cup her ass firmly. Armin guided her as she straddled his hips, gently pressing herself against his still-glistening cock. Armin grunted, roughly hooking his fingers in the waistband of her pants and yanking them off, underwear too. His breath caught as his fingers glided over her folds, causing her to whimper. 

“ _Fuck, Annie.._ you’re so _wet…_ ”

Annie moaned in response, pressing back onto his erection, sliding up and down slightly, smearing it with her juices. Armin’s hand wrapped around his cock, angling it against her entrance. Achingly slow, she eased herself down. They gasped together in unison.

They started slowly, moaning into each other’s mouths, Armin meeting her movements with his thrusts, before the heat pooling in Annie’s stomach became too much to handle, and she tapped his chest, meeting his eyes. Understanding sparked between them, and Armin flipped her over, pressing her into the mattress.

He entered her fully in a single thrust, and she almost shrieked at the sudden pressure. He didn’t hold back, pounding Annie into the sheets mercilessly, catching her breath in her throat, strangled moans breaking out of her. Armin grunted softly, leaning over her, smothering her with his warmth. Her legs trapped his waist, her arms wrapping around his back, coming around to grip his hair. They lost themselves in each other, her climax building to a peak as he angled himself _just right_ , hitting her in _just the right spots._

“Ah.. ah, A-Armin, I’m - _agh_ \- I’m _so close,_ keep going, p-please”

Armin buried his face in her shoulder, mumbling something incoherently into her skin. He pounded Annie even _harder,_ and at the sensation of his teeth gently biting down into her flesh, she _peaked._ He followed soon after, crying out, warmth spilling into her, voice muffled by her body. 

Gently, he rode her through her convulsions until she came back to earth. Annie felt Armin’s body relax fully, crushing her pleasantly. After a few minutes of allowing their breathing to come back to normal, he rolled off her, his softened member exciting her with a soft _squelch_. 

Annie groped around for some cloth of some sort, finding what she assumed was an old shirt on the ground. She tossed it to him, allowing him a little privacy to clean himself up as she found his shirt and pulled it on. She came back to sit on her bed, seeing that Armin was wearing his briefs again, wearing a soft smile as he looked at her, a slightly blissed out look in his eyes. Annie couldn’t help but return the look, pulling him to her as she lay down under the covers.

She buried her face in his chest as he held her, suddenly very sleepy, and drifted off, lulled to sleep by his steady breaths. 

**#**

***

Annie was jolted awake by an exasperated voice cutting through her dreams.

“Oh. My. God, Annie! And you call _me_ bad?! Man, I thought _surely not_ when I saw your clothes strewn everywhere, but _damn!_ ”

She felt a pair of arms wrapped around her torso tighten slightly, the body pressed up behind her shifting, groaning slightly. 

Annie opened her eyes. Hitch was standing in the doorway of her room, a wide grin gracing her features. Annie felt Armin stir again, lifting his face to look at the intruder.

Her roommate’s grin got even wider, a glint in her eyes. “Oh, _hello there_ Armin,” she drawled. He just blinked at her, dropping his head back onto the bed, lips brushing up against Annie’s back through her shirt. “What a _nice surprise_ to see you here,” Hitch teased.

Armin was clearly still half-asleep, and he pressed further into her back. “Good morning, Hitch,” he mumbled. Annie looked at her roommate, eyebrows raised. 

“I’m going to go get coffee, you two want some?” Hitch asked.

Annie sat up, Armin’s arms loosening around her, and stretched. “Yeah, thanks, Hitch,” she said, “The usual for me, and uh, black for him,” she pointed at Armin, who grumbled softly and nodded. 

“Okay you two~, you’d better be decent by the time I get back!” Hitch walzed out, closing the door behind her. 

Annie sighed, cracking her knuckles. She looked down at Armin, who was still dozing, hands resting on her thighs. 

“Hey.” She nudged him slightly, reaching out to ruffle his hair. Armin shifted, looking up at her with lazy eyes, a smile spreading across his features. 

“Hi..”

Armin slowly sat up, bones cracking as he stretched. He casually leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek before slipping past her and out of the bed. He glanced over at her, eyes crinkling as he saw his shirt on her. 

“Now, I’d love to let you keep that,” he said, voice still thick with sleepiness, “But I’d rather not have to walk back to my dorm shirtless, unfortunately.”

Annie groaned in mock annoyance, making a big show of pulling the shirt over her head. Armin chuckled, eyes lingering on her bare chest appreciatively. She stuck her tongue out at him, and chucked him the shirt. 

***

Annie and Armin were dressed and lingering in the kitchen when Hitch returned with their coffee. Conveniently, they all had Government in fifteen minutes time, and Hitch left early, winking at Annie, claiming she was going to meet Marlowe before. 

“ _Just helping you study, huh?”_ she hissed in Annie’s ear as she passed. Annie gave her a small whack on her arm as she skipped out. 

Armin was about to leave, needing to run back to his dorm to grab his things and change. He leaned across the dining table, hands wrapped around his coffee.

“Uh, so,” he began, a faint blush colouring his features, “See, I usually wouldn’t, ah, normally do things this way?”

Annie smiled - she smiled a lot around him. “You mean you usually ask your other women out for dinner first?”

He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I - I guess so? Uhm, so I wanted to ask if-”

“If I wanted to come to dinner?,” she asked innocently, sidling up to him and grabbing his shirt. “Well, I guess if it’s a bit nicer than McDonald’s…”

His laugh was cut short by her lips pressing against his.

***

Armin was thrilled to hear that Professor Smith thought her presentation was ‘well thought out, analytical, and professional’, when Annie told him at dinner - _not McDonald’s -_ that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i did not intend to write smut for this chapter... well one thing led to another and here we are
> 
> looking forward to this week!!
> 
> check out my [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bitterepiphany) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/bitterepiphany) if you want!
> 
> also, forgive me is the college stuff isn’t entirely accurate - i’m australian
> 
> and of course, thanks for reading!!!


	2. Day Two - Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: this chapter contains manga spoilers up to chapter 131

Despite his supposed intelligence, his apparent ability to understand anything, Armin struggled with the concept of ‘home’. 

What did it mean? Did it symbolise anything? Was it a feeling? A concept? As much as he tried, Armin couldn’t get a grip on it. Did he have a home? He wasn’t sure. 

Maybe it was because his parents had been taken from him at such a young age, burdening him with all the lingering questions they left behind. 

But surely that wasn’t the case, because his Grandfather had given him a home, hadn’t he? Hadn’t he cared for Armin as if he was his own, kept him warm, bought him books, fed him his favourite foods, wiped his tears as he cried, kissed his bruises better?

Maybe the memory of his Grandfather was tainted by a feeling of abandonment, sorrow, and pain. Maybe all he saw when he thought about the man was a worn straw hat, sitting in his hands as he cried until he ran out of tears, until shoulder-shaking, throat-tearing sobs was all that remained. 

Shiganshina used to be home, right? Running through the cobbled streets with Eren and Mikasa, chatting to the gate guards, ogling interesting-looking books in the market stalls. Even the bullies were synonymous with Shiganshina, the tang of iron in his mouth, bruised knees, a bleeding nose. The sight of a childish brawl, Eren and Mikasa fighting his attackers, Armin just cowering in the corner, as usual. 

But Shiganshina was ripped away from him, crushed, literally, under the rubble of the titans. More blood than just the kind that would drip from his nose lined the town that raised him now.

***

Annie was going to go home. That she was sure of. As soon as her father knelt before her, crying, confessing his sins, it had clicked. If anything was certain for her in this world, it was her home. As much as her legs ached, her ears rang with her father’s yells, and her nose stung with the tang of crushed forest leaves and sweat, when she thought of it, it was still home.

So when she gazed at the waves lapping at the hull of the boat taking them to hell, she was certain of one thing - she was going to go home.

***

Perhaps, then, home, was wherever Armin’s best friends were. Eren, soon joined by Mikasa, had been by his side for as long as he could remember. They had always been there for him, unconditionally caring for him, fighting for him, even when he was nothing but a pathetic weakling, unable to do anything for himself. 

But ever since that day, the kindness had left Eren’s eyes, leaving behind only raw anger, blistering rage. Mikasa, already damaged, fractured some more, holding herself together only through the sheer will not to lose the only family she had left. The pair of them had little room for Armin anymore, as much as they tried to act otherwise. Armin would never be anything more than a burden to them.

Did he find home in the 104th? In the subsequent years? As his circle of friends and people he cared about grew to a size he never imagined it would get to? But how could he, when that warmth, that sense of contentedness that came with watching his friends bicker over rankings, with reading a book in the sun, with the feeling of achievement when he sliced through the neck of a dummy titan for the first time, was paired with the screams of his squad getting devoured, the slick feel of a giant tongue under his body, the spray of blood that mixed with his tears as his best friend’s left arm fell to the ground in front of him.

But there was a small part of him that encircled a small number of memories with a soft glow, a warmth that even the horror that came with graduation could not extinguish. 

His interactions with her were soft and unassuming. He would feel her eyes on him when he rambled about the things that interested him in the mess hall, always watching, even if she wasn’t obvious about it. He couldn’t help the butterfly-like flutters in his stomach when he saw her, even if she was only doing something as innocuous as eating breakfast. Maybe he was biased or delusional, but her eyes seemed to be a shade softer when she looked at him, and he cherished every little moment of contact he had with her. Once, she had brushed dirt off his shirt after she had knocked his ass down during training; another time, she had blushed cutely after he mentioned offhand that she reminded him of primrose - he read somewhere that the flower symbolised kindness and beauty.

But such fleeting moments of happiness couldn’t serve as a home, he thought. Not something so pure and so beautiful that it could be torn away at a moment's notice.

***

It had been so long. Five years, and what had they gained? Reiner’s mind had fractured and Bertholdt grew to care too much. And her? All she got was Marco’s screams following her throughout the night. 

All to get home. That’s what she told herself when she was torn from sleep, shaking, covered in sweat. All to get home.

But it hadn’t been so bad, right? Not the whole time? 

The guilt of feeling anything but disgust for the ‘devils’ followed her around with each passing day. Perhaps she was just as soft as Bertholdt, just as broken as Reiner. At least they had wanted to come, had something bigger than themselves driving them.

But when thoughts of her father and their wooded cabin back home weren’t enough to drive the guilt and pain away, she surrendered to the memories of recent years. Training. Learning. Making friends, despite their mission. Caring, despite the thousands of lives they had taken. 

Thoughts that warmed her chest, caused soft lurches in her stomach when her mind inevitably,  _ always,  _ drifted to him. 

Eyes that were a mirror to the sea he so desperately dreamed of. Eyes filled with things she had lost long ago. Hope. Dreams. Love. That unbearable softness in his gaze when he looked at her, almost as if he was trying to convince her she wasn’t as bad as she thought she was. She didn’t deserve to be looked at like that, the monster she was. He got under her skin in a way that nobody else could, making her  _ feel things _ that she had never felt before. Making her face heat up, making her palms sweat when he did something as innocent as smile at her.

But she saw him break, too. Saw things in his eyes that she recognised. Fear. Sorrow. Pain. She caught him once, hiding behind the dormitory, sobbing, a worn straw hat sitting in his hands. 

And she thought to herself,

_ Who did this to you? Who took the innocence in your eyes and replaced it with such grief? _

And then she remembered.

_ I did. _

So she did her duty. She killed more Scouts she could count. She took, and took, and took. All for the mission. All to go home.

But when he crouched there, looking at her with  _ fear  _ in his eyes for the first time, all thoughts of home, her mission, her father, left her. Because  _ he was looking at her with terror. He thought she was a monster. _

And she couldn’t do it.

So she ran from him.

But when she thought she had gathered her thoughts and returned to the mission, he appeared again. And she was still just as goddamn useless.

And because of him, she failed.

And when she stood face to face with him, knowing,  _ just knowing he knew,  _ she failed again. She could not look into those eyes, and see that somehow,  _ despite everything, he thought she was a good person.  _ She could not say no. 

But in the end, as she was crystallised, she thought of home. Home was what all this was for, right? All this effort, all this work, to get back to her father.

But for him, she walked to her doom. For him, she walked away from home.

***

Armin looked at her in the crystal for the first time, and his heart broke.

He should hate her. He should be glad she was captured. He should be cursing her name. 

He couldn’t.

So he kept coming. And after months of silence, he spoke. He told her everything. Everything that had happened after she had hidden herself away. As he confessed to her about eating Bertholdt, about how the feeling of his skin melting off never really went away, about how he should be dead, not Commander Smith, he cried. He sat at the base of her crystal and sobbed. He cried harder than he ever had in his entire life, harder than he had when his parents had never come home, harder than when his grandfather was sent to be food for the titans. 

He sat in that basement, and he wailed. And she was there, unmoving, uncomforting. 

But when his eyes dried and his shoulders stopped trembling, he found himself feeling lighter than he had in years. 

So he kept her company for the years that followed. Until his best friend became a stranger to him, until the walls were torn to the ground, and the ground rumbled, until one thought was all that ran through his mind.

_ She’s out she’s out she’s out. _

***

They sat shoulder to shoulder, rocking with the waves. 

For years in her crystal, his voice and Hitch’s were the only things she could hang onto, the only line she had to keep her from falling into the insanity of her loneliness.

_ Annie… I did it because I wanted… to see you… _

For years he had spoken to her, becoming the only person he could speak his deepest thoughts and feelings to. 

Before he came to even realise it, that basement became home. 

Before she was even aware, his voice became home.

So now they sat, the end of the world so close, they could taste the tang of blood in the air.

But somehow, somewhere along the way, they had found home in each other. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've always enjoyed doing these kind of self-reflection, character study kind of pieces
> 
> hope you enjoyed!
> 
> thanks for reading!!! <3


	3. Day Three - Flowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: contains manga spoilers up to chapter 127

Annie was used to this kind of life. Maybe she should be resentful at having to endure military training for the second time in her life, but, to be honest, it suited her. All she had ever known since she was a child was waking up, training until her lungs gave out, the echo of orders yelled in her ears; her father, Commandant Shadis, what was the difference?

So it was no surprise when she excelled in the training, jumping up the ranks almost immediately, marking her as ‘someone to watch’, or, ‘someone to beat’. It had taken a little while to get used to the odd contraption that was the ODM gear; she was relieved to see that Reiner and Bertholdt seemed to fare just as well as her - they garnered no suspicion from this due to being on the same level as the other recruits, at least.

Annie was by far the most diligent of the Warrior trio, and the boys took it upon themselves to give _her_ the job of sneaking around and spying during all hours of the night; ‘You’re the smallest and fastest out of us, Annie, it has to be you..’, Reiner had insisted. So while her two _partners_ spent their time getting chummy with the people they were supposed to be killing, Annie would be sleuthing down back alleys of the capital, Mitras, ducking into storm drains, and listening carefully behind closed doors for _any sign_ of whether the king had the Founder. 

But it was better to be exhausted, better to be the odd one out, the loner, than what Reiner and Bertholdt were becoming. Making friends could only spell disaster for them. They couldn’t get attached, couldn’t harbour any doubts about fulfilling their mission - Annie _needed_ to get home. 

But despite all these steadfast claims of hers, Annie, in reality, was just as weak as her comrades. She found herself warming to these people, even with her ‘lone wolf’ status. She had agreed to train Eren Yeager, much to Reiner and Bertholdt’s disbelief, and actually enjoyed it; she even felt a little grudging approval when he used her technique to beat the other cadets, felt a little pride when he visibly improved under her watch. She found herself more than tolerating her roommates' presence in the bunkhouse - she may even be _enjoying_ herself with them - and she couldn’t bring herself to push away her bunkmate, Mina, who proved to Annie that people as pure and as innocent as her somehow did exist, couldn’t find it within herself to say no when all the girls got together for a gossip session - which was exactly what was happening tonight, after dinner.

The girls all sat around the dorm room in a misshapen circle, lounging on beds, leaning against bunks on the floor, whispering excitedly; they couldn’t be _too_ loud otherwise Commandant Shadis would burst through the door and make them run laps in the middle of the night, much to the boy’s amusement. 

Annie found herself seated next to Mina and Sasha, who had _somehow_ managed to sneak some bread in - Annie wouldn’t question it, Sasha had a gift for procuring food in the oddest of places - and waited as the rest of the group quietened. Christa, who was the proclaimed leader of these little gossip sessions, settled next to Ymir and cleared her throat.

“So,” she began, “Is there anything anybody wants to talk about?”

Immediately, an excited-looking Hannah’s hand shot up. Christa gestured to her.

“The boys!”

A murmur ran through the group. Surprisingly, this was the first time the topic of their opposite gendered cadets had been brought up. They had covered all sorts of things, from how to make your hair feel like silk, to the intricacies of how they masturbated (Annie had kept her mouth shut about _that)_ , but despite some of the more risque topics, the actual boys had never been discussed. 

“Sounds good, should be an interesting discussion!”

Annie held back a scoff at Ymir’s comment. Of course, this type of conversation wouldn’t be a problem for _her_ ; she had made it pretty clear her preference for girls - Christa, in particular - pretty early on in their training days. 

“Ok… how about we start with you then Hannah?” Christa prompted, after elbowing Ymir slightly.

Hannah immediately reddened; Annie suspected why she had brought up this subject - almost all of them had caught her in her more _private_ moments with a certain Franz that were becoming more commonplace since the beginning of the week. Annie wasn’t sure what was better, watching them pine painfully after each other, or catching them playing tongue-hockey behind the wash shed. 

“Well, obviously, there’s Franz,” Hannah let loose a sharp giggle, slapping her hand over her mouth. “I mean, god, what isn’t to _love_ about him, he’s just _so_ handsome and…”

Annie began to tune the girl out, not needing to hear for the umpeenth time about how _sexy and perfect_ Franz Kefka was. She tilted her head to the roof, eyes tracing a crack in the ceiling. She leant up against a bunk, vaguely listening as Hannah _finally_ finished, and they began to move around the room, seeing Mina’s reactions in the corner of her eye, even accepting a chunk of break that was offered from Sasha. 

Coming into the training corps, Annie wasn’t accustomed to ‘girl talk’, never having friends when she was younger due to being sequestered away by her father, and the only other female companion being Pieck when she became a Warrior Candidate - but even then, she barely spoke to the other girl, being slightly intimidated by the way she always hung around Zeke. 

  
  
  
  


However, Annie had learnt enough from her time here, and could carry a more frivolous conversation about stupid things long enough to make it clear she wasn’t interested and have the other party move on. Now, she allowed herself to indulge on such a shallow subject and catalogue what the other girls thought about their male companions. 

Annie wasn’t surprised to see that Reiner had a bit of a cult following - mostly soft spoken, timid girls, she noticed - since he was the epitome of the ‘strong, smart, husband material, kind of boy’. Annie found it ironic, given his unpopularity in Marley. She was slightly disgusted by the amount of girls that found _Jean,_ of all people, attractive. Annie could also tell which girls liked Eren Yeager - they would glance nervously at Mikasa, stutter, then name some other boy or simply claim there was nobody at all. Soon, the atmosphere turned into a blushing, giggly mess, as girls fought over boys and compared them against each other. 

Mikasa herself, whom Annie suspected the others just asked as to not make her feel ostracized - they _all_ knew how she felt about Eren - just blushed, looked around the room with slightly frantic eyes, ducked her head, and whispered a name - Eren. To their credit, the other girls acted shocked, assuring her that she and Eren would be wonderful together. 

“Annie! What about you?”

Annie startled. _Since when did it get to me?_

She frowned, seeing Ymir grinning cunningly at her from across the group. Annie sighed. The other girl seemed determined to have Annie spill all the scandalous secrets she thought she had. Even worse, she seemed to have gotten many of the girls involved too, Christa and Mina included, if their excited expressions and the nudge Annie got from the left were to say anything. 

“Yeah Annie,” Christa urged, “Are there any boys that you like?” 

“No.”

Annie was _not_ going to get into this kind of conversation with these girls. 

“Come on Annie!” came Mina’s voice from her side, “There must be _someone!”_

Despite continuing to shake her head, Annie’s mind betrayed her, wandering to consider the boys she trained with. 

“Reiner? I see you talking to him sometimes?”

Reiner? No way. Reiner was the reason she was stuck in this hell, the reason Marcel was dead, the reason she wasn’t at home with her father. Despite their shared grievances, she hated him. A cruel, angry part of her wished he had died instead of Marcel, who would have called off the mission and taken them home. But his death would have broken Bertholdt. Annie knew how Bertholdt felt about her. She didn’t really feel anything about her other comrade in any particular way; he was just too soft-spoken and too passive to really get her attention. She supposed she should be flattered to be getting any boy’s attention, but it didn’t really matter to her in the slightest.

“No, no way.” Annie replied.  
  


Christa leaned forward to her, rubbing her chin. “What about Eren?” Annie saw Mikasa stiffen. “You train him in hand-to-hand, don’t you?”

Eren? Annie had a strange relationship with the boy. Part of her admired his tenacity, respected the crazy drive that propelled him forwards, his wish to constantly get stronger and stronger. It reminded Annie of herself, in some ways, the way she was so determined to get back to her father. 

But Annie felt nothing romantic towards the boy, and it wouldn’t matter if she did anyway; Mikasa would kill her if that was the case. 

“Eren? No.”

Mikasa relaxed, but still sent a chilling glare in Annie’s direction. 

Annie continued with her resolute ‘No’s’ as Christa, Mina, and some of the other girls peppered her with names of various boys. 

But, the betrayer it was, Annie’s mind continued to wander down a path she usually blocked off. Maybe, just maybe, there was one boy who might have caught her attention.

_No. Don’t think about that. He’s just nice to you, that’s all. That’s all it is._

But she couldn’t help the jumpy feeling she got in her stomach when she thought about him. His eyes, which were mirrors to the ocean he so longed for, his hands, which looked so soft, too soft, for a soldier, his tenacity, his hopefulness - something that had long died within herself. He was so kind, _too kind,_ he smiled at her like she wasn’t the monster she thought she was; but during those moments when he looked at her like that, she was convinced too. 

But someone like him could never fall for someone like her; he was an angel, she, a devil.

Her face must have betrayed where her thoughts strayed, because Mina suddenly pointed to her and gasped.

“You’re blushing!!” she cried out, causing all heads to turn her way. “So there _is_ someone you like!”

Annie groaned, burying her face in her hands. There was no hiding it now, as the other girls squealed and tittered at this new revelation that _the cold-hearted Annie Leonhardt had a_ crush _on someone._

“Tell us, Annie! Who is it!” 

Annie shook her head resolutely. She would not be _caught dead_ confessing her feelings about the weakest boy in their group. 

“Annie,” Ymir drawled, “You know that we won’t let this go until you tell us, right?”

Annie huffed in annoyance, glaring at the other girl, who just stuck out her tongue at her. 

Trying her best to ignore the anticipation in the other girl’s gazes, Annie ducked her head to avoid their eyes.

“Armin,” she whispered, barely audible.

“What?” Mina cried out, “You like Armin?”

Annie nodded, cheeks blazing. 

The whole bunk burst into giggles and squeals. Annie was bustled about, elbowed and hugged in playful, teasing ways, and she couldn’t help the tiny grin that graced her features as Christa and Mina beamed at her in exhilaration; they made it their quest to ‘hook up’, as they called it, Annie with Armin. They seemed so delighted that she liked the boy - his name hadn’t been said once by any of the girls before Annie that night.

Amidst the chaos that had descended upon the bunk, the door suddenly banged open. Girls squealed and hid as Commandant Shadis peered menacingly into the room.

“What’s all this racket I hear?” he glanced at the sky behind him. “I thought I recalled light-out being a good hour ago?”

Nobody said anything. Shadis sighed. 

“You know what this means girls.” His voice raised in volume. “Ten laps each soldiers!” he yelled, “And you do _not_ get the luxury of taking a shower after! Go on!”

There was a mass of shuffling and groaning, but they had been caught, fair and square. Annie tried to ignore the still-grinning faces of Christa and Mina as she pulled on her shoes and set off.

***

The sun was a warm balm on her face, and the soft grass beneath her hands was a rare treat as their group rested in a large open field dotted with various coloured flowers. They were on a training exercise in two large groups, where they had to make their way using only ODM gear across various landscapes to a destination point. 

The drill was tough, requiring them to conserve their gas accordingly and often involved walking long distances on foot in landscapes where ODM movement wasn’t possible. Annie’s group, which included Christa, Ymir, Mina, Marco, Thomas, Connie, Armin, Bertholdt, and a few others had run across an open meadow, and made the decision to take a rest in the sun. 

Annie let herself relax for a bit of time, allowing her mind to drift into a gentle hum, not having to worry about their mission for a while. Her gaze drifted to where the other girls were grouped around a certain individual, laughing. Curious, Annie got up and made her way over to them. 

Spotting her, Mina waved Annie over, a wide grin on her face. Annie sat next to her, seeing an interesting sight in front of her. Armin was seated at the head of the group and he was weaving flowers together. Annie was bewildered for a moment, before she realised. He was making a _flower crown_. She saw that Christa and Ymir already sported one on their heads, and upon seeing Annie join them, Christa grabbed her hand and dragged her down right next to Armin.

“If this isn’t a perfect opportunity, I don’t know what is!” she whispered into Annie’s ear.

Armin looked up and saw Annie, face breaking into a wide grin. Annie averted her eyes, cursing herself for blushing at the way he looked at her. She looked at the flowers intwined in his hands. They were pretty - a mix of whites, purples, and dusty pinks. 

“I’m just making this for Mina,” Armin said, making Annie glance up at him, “But I can make one for you after, if you want, Annie?”

_They really are pretty…_

“Ok.” she responded, surprising herself slightly, and the other girls around her too, if their muffled giggles were to say anything.

Annie watched as he finished Mina’s crown, placing on her head lightly. Then he turned and scoured the grass, picking a number of flowers and placing them in a small pile in front of him. Then, he grabbed two, weaved their stems together in a way she couldn’t follow, and began to repeat the process with more flowers.

Seeing her watching him, Armin glanced around, picked a white flower from next to him, and held it out to her. Breath caught in her throat, she reached out and took it from him gently, scared of breaking the stem. Annie noted in the back of her mind that the other girls had discreetly moved away from them, just leaving the two of them alone together. 

Annie stroked the silky petals slightly, careful not to bruise them. There really wasn’t much time for her to admire beautiful things, but when she did, she discovered this land was so unique in its raw beauty, not polluted by fumes from airships and cars, not overrun with claustrophobic cities and internment zones. Part of her wondered if it would be so bad if she was an Eldian born on this island, rather than one born into Marley. 

Annie shook her head lightly. There was no place for those types of thoughts in her head.

Distracted, she didn’t notice Armin finish weaving the flowers together to form a crown, and was startled when he was suddenly reaching over her, placing it softly on her head. 

“How’d you learn to do this?” she asked, fingers tracing the stems that rested on atop her hair.

“Ah, well,” he replied, hand rubbing the back of his neck “My grandfather taught me when I was younger; we had a flower garden back at our house in Shiganshina.”

_Shiganshina… I destroyed that flower garden._

“I see… well, I like it, thank you…”

Then they were both blushing, avoiding each other’s eyes, a unfamiliar warmth blossoming in Annie’s chest.

***

And so began a strange back-and-forth between the two of them. At his discovery that she really liked the flowers and flower crown - she had worn it for the rest of the training exercise, even when it had begun to fall apart; Annie glaring at anyone who dared make a comment - he began to leave little ‘gifts’ for her to find around the training grounds. 

A flower crown on her pillow - she could probably thank Mina or Christa for helping him put it there - that made the butterflies in her stomach squirm. A handful of flowers scattered among her spot that held her ODM gear. A little bouquet of the white flowers she had shown a preference for appearing at her usual seat in the mess hall; how he got his hands on those flowers baffled her slightly. 

It was sweet, and the warmth that hid in her chest when she saw those flower gifts only grew with each day they appeared. The girls hadn’t failed to notice these little interactions either; Mina would pester her for details every night and often sung quiet songs as they tried to sleep about Armin and Annie being the perfect couple, much to Annie’s embarrassment. 

One night, they had to clean the mess hall after Sasha and Connie had made a huge mess; Annie had found another flower crown sitting in her spot too, and she had steeled her nerves for what she was about to do. 

As they were all walking back to their bunk houses, Annie spotted Armin and made her way up to him. She caught his arm, and pulled him behind the washhouse, ignoring his questioning.

She turned and looked up at him, clutching the flower crown in her hands. Painfully slowly, she reached up on her tip-toes and placed it on his head. His eyes widened. Then, without a word, she leaned forward and pressed a feather-soft kiss to his lips. He froze. Annie smiled slightly at him, fingers unconsciously tapping his nose.

Then she turned and walked away, that damn warmth threatening to burst her chest.

  
  


***

But life had to go on, the mission had to be fulfilled. So she made herself forget about him and his flowers. Well, she tried.

But after the world faded away and all she knew was the muffled sounds and floating darkness of crystallisation, she found herself wishing for the first time she could open her eyes, when _his_ voice cut through the nothingness. 

He didn’t sound angry, which baffled her; he just sounded tired. He just spoke about menial things, and just _talked_ , and it was everything Annie could have ever wanted, and found herself dreading the moments when he would have to leave.

She wondered if he still made those flower crowns, and whether she could ever be worthy to wear one again. 

  
  


***

The first thing that Annie registered after she coughed up lungfuls of crystal fluid was the lingering scent of flowers. 

Still hacking up liquid, she opened her eyes. Scattered amongst the shards of her self made prison, wet with the fluid it left behind, were flowers. The exact same type of flowers that Armin used to gift her during training all those years ago. 

Flower crowns, small bouquets, singular flowers, and even handfuls of petals scattered around the basement that had held her for over four years. 

Annie picked a crown up, slightly damp and wilted from the moisture, and put it on her head. Then she curled upon herself, and sobbed.

***

The atmosphere was tense around the campfire. The ground still trembled faintly from the millions of colossal titans that thundered their death march. Jean hadn’t returned from the forest after letting loose on Reiner, and the rest of their mishmash group of Marleyan’s and Paradisian’s were beginning to wind down for the night. 

Annie had left Reiner to rest and heal, and idly fidgeted with her bowl and spoon, feeling too tense to sleep; she had been resting for the past four years, she didn’t feel like being idle for any longer. 

It felt like the universe either loved her or hated her when she found herself sitting next to _Armin and Connie_ of all people as she took refuge with Hitch. She hadn’t recognised him at first, but it had to be him without a doubt - she could never forget that voice; it was the voice that had kept her sane during her long isolation. 

The Armin of the present didn’t match the Armin that lived in her head. He had remained that small, cute, brilliant boy that she had known during training in her head, but the Armin now, he was older, taller, rougher, more weary. He had lost that hopeful spark in his eyes, and it broke her heart when she saw the emptiness that replaced it. 

Glancing around the campfire, she saw the boy in question at the edge of the woods, fiddling with a pile of something he had in front of him. Unsure what exactly what she was doing, Annie stood up and made her way over to him. He glanced over at her.

“Oh, hey, Annie”

Annie didn’t say anything, and just looked at him. 

_He’s handsome._

The thought was so unbidden, but she couldn’t bring herself to even try and push it aside. She was too tired, the world too crazy, for her to even bother wasting energy on denying the way she felt about him. 

“I actually wanted to see you,” he murmured softly, turning to her, something in her hands.

Her eyes migrated to what he held in his hands.

It was a flower crown.

Annie felt her eyes widen. He held it out to her. She took it, fingers trembling. Slowly, she reached up and placed it on her head. Armin’s eyes tracked her movements, a smile softly growing on his lips. 

He made no move to do anything further. She appreciated it; she didn’t think she could handle anything else at the moment. 

“I’m glad you’re here, Annie,” he whispered, and that damn warmth that had hidden itself away for so long broke free.

“Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so life is a bitch and i may not be able to finish posting for the week, which sucks because i had such a great time writing for it
> 
> however, whenever i’m able to write and post again i’ll definitely post what i have, it’ll just be late!
> 
> thank you all so much for the support and as always, thanks so much for reading!!


	4. Day Four - Messages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: direct references to attempted suicide, self-harm, and mental health issues. please don’t read if any of those topics trigger you/make you uncomfortable

**Voicemail found on Armin Arlert’s phone, sent at 9:38am, on the 15th of October.**

_ ‘Hey… it’s me. I know you probably don’t want to hear from me, but I’m really worried, okay? Please… just call me back. ‘Kay. Bye’ _

***

**Voicemails found on Armin Arlerts phone, sent at 9:40am, 10:36am, and 10:52am, on the 15th of October, respectively.**

~

‘ _ God Armin, please. Honestly, please just ignore that last message and call me please? I don’t think I could stand it if something happened to you okay? I know we left things off on a bad note, but if I don’t get to see you and say sorry, if that’s the last thing I said to you, I- I don’t think I could handle it. Please… Armin, please. I just need to know if you’re okay.’ _

_ ~ _

_ ‘Hey Armin, it’s Mikasa. Are you okay? Annie’s been calling me non-stop saying that something’s wrong. Didn’t you two have a fight or something? I mean, it is kinda weird you haven’t made contact with any of us - I checked with Eren, too - so just call one of us, please? Just to make sure you’re okay, that’s all. Thanks. Bye.’ _

_ ~ _

_ ‘Armin, it’s Mikasa again. I know there’s something wrong. There’s no way you’re just ignoring all of us, right? Please, I’m getting worried and I hate dealing with Annie while she’s like this. Call me, please? I’ll drop anything and come to you if you need help, okay? Please, Armin… bye.’ _

***

**Text message threads sent to Armin Arlert’s phone, each arriving between the times of 8:49am and 11:03am.**

~

_ 8:49am _

- _ hey _

_ -it’s annie _

_ -just in case you got rid of my number or anything _

_ -can we talk? _

_ ~ _

_ 9:12am _

_ -armin _

_ -i know those messages went through _

_ -it’s not like you to ignore anything _

_ -i’m really sorry, okay? _

_ -call me? _

_ ~ _

_ 9:27am _

_ -armin im getting worried _

_ -please call me _

_ ~ _

_ 10:30am _

_ -hey _

_ -annie’s blowing up my phone armin _

_ -idc how angry you are at her just text her so i don't have to deal with it ok? _

_ ~ _

_ 11:03am _

_ -hey man _

_ -is everything okay? _

_ -you know you can call me if anything is wrong, right? _

_ *** _

Annie was panicking. Armin was missing-in-action, they were off the back of a huge fight about something stupid, and he wasn’t even talking to Mikasa or Eren. There was something wrong. She could feel it in her gut. 

So now here she was, pacing in Mikasa’s apartment while the other woman spoke on the phone to Eren. Annie could hear muffled snatches of the conversation in the other room, with words like ‘episode’ and ‘relapse’ coming through. Annie sat heavily in an armchair and buried her face in her hands.

Armin was ill. She knew that. She knew what she was getting into when they started dating. He wasn’t physically ill, thoughl. The words ‘major depressive disorder’, and ‘severe anxiety’ were thrown about when they talked about getting serious, but Annie was prepared. She was prepared to support him, even if things got really bad. But Armin had promised to her, promised profusely, that he would be trying his absolute best to get better. And Annie trusted him. 

But they had fought yesterday. Fought badly for the first time in eight months. Annie could remember the details like she was standing in the room with him now. It was a barely touched sore subject between them, the subject of her father. He didn’t think very highly of the man, given his history of abuse against Annie when she was younger. But Annie was insistent that he had changed since she became an adult, was working to get better. Armin appeared to see that, but still remained angry at the man, for whatever reason, Annie wasn’t sure. So they had never agreed on the matter. 

But Annie had a short temper, and she had said some words she now regretted heavily. In the midst of anger, she had made hurtful comments about his own condition and how ‘If he could get better why couldn’t her father?’. Immediately, he had frozen up, and she had wished she could take her words back. It wasn’t fair on him to compare his struggles with her father’s, but there was nothing she could say to fix that damage now. Annie saw him retreat behind his masks, masks she had worked so hard to break, and he had simply turned and walked out. And the worst thing? She let him. 

And now he was missing, probably in a bad state of mind, and Annie was so worried she felt like she was going to throw up. 

Mikasa strode into the room. “Eren hasn’t heard from him either, so I don’t know where he could be. I’ve already left two messages and some texts.”

Annie sighed, checked her phone unconsciously, the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach not going anywhere. She stood, sick of sitting around and not doing anything.

“I’m going to go to his place,” she declared, “There’s no use just waiting around, and if something really has happened, we need to find him.”

Mikasa began to protest, but stopped at the look on Annie’s face. She sighed. 

“Fine. But I’m coming with you.”

Annie knew there was no point protesting this. Mikasa was one of Armin’s best friends, and was fiercely protective of him; Annie knew this well enough, after receiving threats of being beat up ( _ Mikasa might be the only person who could possibly beat Annie up)  _ if she treated him badly.

They both got their jackets, and prepared to make the drive to Armin’s apartment.

***

**Transcript of a call placed to emergency services at 11:34am, on Tuesday 15th October. Transcript lists the responses of the caller, not the receiver.**

~

_ Hello?  _

_ Yes, I’m- I’m at my friend’s apartment, and he’s unconscious? I think he’s taken something? _

_... _

_ Yeah, yeah he’s breathing, but not responding. H-his girlfriend is with me as well? She’s with him right now. I- he’s got mental health issues, so he might have overdosed. _

_... _

_ No… no we haven’t seen anything like that.  _

_ … _

_ No, I’m not sure how long it’s been. _

_ … _

_ (Muffled coughing, followed by frantic talking, can be heard in the background) _

_ Wait! He’s coughing… he’s coughing up blood? Wh-what do we do? _

_... _

_...Ok. Ok the address is REDACTED. Ok, we’ll stay with him. Keep his mouth clear? Ok. _

_ … _

_ (The muffled sound of sobs can be heard in the background. A female voice can be heard saying the name ‘Armin’ repeatedly) _

_ Yes. I understand. Thank you so much. Ok. Thank you. Bye. _

_ *** _

**Maria Hospital - Medical Report**

**Date: October 15, 2021**

**Time of admission: 12:01pm**

**_Patient Name:_ ** _ Armin Arlert _

**_Date of Birth:_ ** _ November 3, 2000 _

**_Height:_ ** _ 168cm _

**_Weight:_ ** _ 55kg _

**_Admission Details:_ **

_ Mr Armin Arlert, age 21, was found in his apartment at approximately 11:34am on Tuesday, October 15, 2021. He was found by friend Mikasa Ackerman and girlfriend Annie Leonhardt, and was unconscious and unresponsive on his couch. Suspecting an overdose, Miss Ackerman called emergency services while Miss Leonhardt stayed with Mr Arlert. About halfway through the call, Miss Leonhardt reported Mr Arlert started to cough up blood, but was still unresponsive.  _

_ Emergency services arrived at approximately 11:48am and transported Mr Arlert to Maria Hospital, where tests to determine his condition were taken immediately. Blood tests found a dangerous amount of paracetamol in his bloodstream, while x-rays discovered three razor blades in his esophagus. Mr Arlert was then transported to the surgery theatre ASAP for removal of the blades. On the way to the theatre, Mr Arlert regained consciousness briefly and began coughing up more blood. He underwent surgery at approximately 12:50pm, and the procedure went smoothly, resulting in the removal of all three blades from his body. He is currently still unconscious, in a stable condition, and recovering in the ICU, and is attached to a charcoal drip to counteract the effects of the paracetamol in his bloodstream. _

**_Past Medical History:_ **

_ Friend Mikasa Ackerman and girlfriend Annie Leonhardt provided some details about Mr Arlert’s supposed mental health conditions. We are currently waiting for a full report from Mr Arlert’s psychiatrist, Mrs Hange Zoe. _

_ *** _

Annie hated hospitals. They were too bright, too artificial for her liking. But she would stay in this hospital forever if it meant Armin would be okay. Mikasa had gone home after much insistence by Annie, making her promise to let her know if anything happened. Annie knew she would drop everything and be here if she needed. The same went for Eren, who had arrived, panicking, not too long after Annie and Mikasa, and had refused to leave - he was dozing in a chair opposite Annie in the small waiting room. 

A nurse entered the room and made her way over to Annie and Eren. 

“Are you Miss Leonhardt and Mr Yeager?”

Annie nodded, poking Eren with her foot to wake him. “That’s us”

“Mr Arlert came out of surgery about an hour ago,” the nurse said, “It all went smoothly, and he’s just woken up, if you would like to see him? He knows you're here, and he’s willing to see you guys, if you want?”

Relief slumped Annie’s shoulders. She exchanged a look with Eren, who nodded.

“You go,” he murmured, rubbing his eyes. “It’ll be good for you two to talk, and I’ll text Mikasa. I’ll see him when she gets here.”

Annie just nodded, grateful. 

“I’ll see him first,” she said to the nurse, standing. The nurse gestured out of the waiting room, and led her down a series of hallways, before stopping at a door with the words  _ Arlert, Armin  _ written in whiteboard marker on the front. 

“He’s just in there.”

Annie thanked the nurse, before turning the doorknob and stepping inside quietly.

Ocean blue eyes met light steel blue. 

Armin was sitting up, right arm angled awkwardly to accommodate the IV drip inserted into it. He had bandages wrapped around his lower neck and chest region - from the surgery, Annie presumed - and he still had that drowsy look lingering in his eyes from the effects of the anesthetic. 

His eyes lingered on hers for a moment. 

“Annie…”

Her name on his lips spurred her into action. Wasting no time, she closed the distance to the bed, hoisted herself up next to him, and wrapped her arms around him. She felt him stiffen, then relax, cheek pressing into her hair.

“Armin,” she whispered, feeling tears bud in her eyes, “I’m so glad you’re okay… please… please don’t -” 

Her breath hitched. His non-IV’d arm wrapped around her tight. 

“Annie,” he murmured, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so-”

“Armin!,” she interrupted, lifting her head to lock eyes with him. “Please don’t apologise! Please… I just wish you had reached out to me… and really, I should be the one apologising. I said some awful things, I- I don’t think that I can express how horrible I feel for driving you to such a point…”

His shoulders began to tremble. Hand reaching up to cup her cheek, he pressed his forehead against hers. “Annie… it wasn’t your fault, I promise. It’s never been you, okay? Please, please, please don’t put the blame on yourself… ever, okay? It-it’s just me, and how stupid I am…”

“You’re not stupid, Armin.”

His eyes crinkled with his smile. He hummed noncommittally. “Just… just let me hold you for a while, okay?” he said.

Annie nodded, snuggling into him, careful not to hit his bandages. He rested his head back onto her hair, arm tightening around her again. Her fingers traced over his forearms, feeling the slight bumps of faded scars on his wrists. She didn’t think she could express how much she loved him, how relieved she was he was here with her.

So they just sat, artificial hospital light illuminating them both, wrapped up around each other, content; together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was very angsty.... sorry
> 
> i guess i just wanted to say to check up on your loved ones. even the happiest looking people on the outside can be hurting internally. and as someone who has experienced mental health issues, someone genuinely saying that they appreciate you can be the highlight of someones day and stop them from doing something they'll regret. each and every one of you is loved, appreciated, and valued. my dms on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bitterepiphany) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/bitterepiphany) are always open to anybody who might need someone to talk to, no questions asked. i love you all!!!
> 
> good news though! i'm still able to post and write so i should be good for posting the rest of the week as normal!
> 
> thanks for reading!!! <3


	5. Day Five - Hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: manga spoilers up to chapter 131. includes a small reference to suicide  
> also boat seggs. that’s all

_‘Annie… I did it because I wanted… to see you…_

Annie’s head was still reeling with the events of the afternoon. She could hardly come to terms with Armin’s confession - _was that what it was? A confession? -_ while the thought of her father crushed flat in Liberio was still fresh on her mind. 

But she found herself sitting in her cabin after they talked, and her thoughts didn’t linger on her father, like she thought they would. She knew that she couldn’t fight anymore, of course. It felt like there was a hole in her, a hole where her drive, her motivation, her resolve once sat. But with the death of her father, what was the point anymore? A tiny, nasty voice in the back of her head told her to just throw herself overboard - she would be able to see him that way, wouldn’t she? Everything she had worked for, everything she had sacrificed, all the lives she had taken, it was all for nothing now. 

So she sat, curled up on her flimsy bed, and attempted the fruitless task that was falling asleep. And her thoughts betrayed her. She found herself thinking about the years in the crystal, a time that normally she would rather forget. It confused her. She had already thanked Armin, so why was she thinking about all the time he spoke to her now?

He and Hitch were possibly the only thing that kept her sane. Hitch was great, of course; she would just prattle on about meaningless things like boys and makeup supplies and gossip - in those moments, Annie could almost imagine herself lounging about her Military Police dorm, listening to Hitch drawl on about the newest inconvenience of the day. 

But Armin… Armin was soft-spoken, open, and raw. He was the reality check that she was faced with every time he visited her. Hitch hid the hurt Annie had caused her well, but Armin laid it all on her, with little to no filter. He was never cruel, or angry though; if anything, he was more understanding than even Reiner and Bertholdt had been. 

Annie had hurt Armin in ways that she could hardly imagine. _She_ had crushed his hometown flat, _she_ had sent his grandfather off to be devoured, _she_ had killed his entire squad in the Scouts, _she_ had betrayed the trust, the comradery the entire 104th had in her. But despite it all, she was reminded of the time when he cornered her in a back alley in Stohess, claiming that he thought she was a good person. 

_A good person…_

Even after all she had done - and he _knew_ it was her, there was no doubting that - he still claimed she was a good person to him. _To him._ He could have been lying? But Annie knew he wasn’t. Armin was a bad liar. At least, to her, he was. Annie had known Stohess had been a trap from the moment he opened her mouth. She wasn’t stupid. But she had still gone with him nonetheless. 

Why? 

Annie couldn’t bring herself to consider the answer to that. 

And damn Armin had sat next to her, with his soft eyes, and his soft voice, and his soft words, and had repeated the words he said to her so many years ago.

‘ _I don’t like the terms ‘good person’, and ‘bad person’...’_

And all Annie could feel when he said those things was relief. _Because he still didn’t think she was a bad person. He still didn’t think she was a monster._

And deep down, Annie was grateful. Grateful for Armin’s unwavering presence, his inevitability. Because maybe that boy, with those words, were the only things keeping her from seeing her father again, right here, right now.

***

Somehow, she wasn’t surprised when she stood before his cabin door, hand raised to knock, hesitating.

She couldn’t sleep. That wasn’t unpredictable; her thoughts had bounced from her father, to Armin, back to her father, to thoughts of ending it, back to Armin, to rumbling feet, to her home, back to her father, Armin, father, Rumbling, blood, death, ending it all, father, and so forth for hours, leaving her feeling sluggish and too exhausted with existence for her body to even think about drifting off.

_Why are you here, Leonhardt?_

She knocked.

There was a shuffling - _how late was it? -_ and then footsteps, and the door swung open, revealing Armin. He looked like shit. His hair was tousled, his shirt still retained the bloodstains and bullet holes from when he was shot, the underneath of his eyes were smudged with purple, and his eyes themselves looked bloodshot and weary. They widened slightly when he saw her standing there.

“Annie?”

Her eyes migrated to her shoes.

“Can I come in?” she asked, voice barely a whisper.

“Oh?,” he replied, sounding confused. “Yeah, yeah of course.”

He stepped aside, letting her in, and she lingered awkwardly in the middle of the room. It was sparse, only the bed, some shelves, and his ODM gear piled against an opposite wall adorning it. Armin closed the door behind her, and made his way past her to sit on the bed. 

Wordlessly, she followed, and sat next to him, shoeless feet coming to tuck underneath her thighs. They just sat for a while, the only movement being his legs as they came and stretched down the bed when he got more comfortable. Armin glanced at her a few times, questioningly, probably wondering what she came here for. He seemed to get the message that she didn’t feel like talking quickly, though, and they just sat in comfortable silence.

Armin’s presence was like a soothing balm to her jumbled thoughts. She didn’t know why, but just being there with him allowed her mind to blank out blissfully. She rested in relative peace, but upon discovery that she _still_ couldn’t sleep, her gaze was drawn to the boy - the man, really - next to her. 

He had changed so much. The Armin in her head that spoke to her in her crystal - short, cute, soft, brilliant - didn’t coincide with the Armin that she saw on the bed next to her. He was older, taller, his hair was shorter, his body more filled out, more defined, and his blue eyes had lost their spark. Annie couldn’t deny that her eyes liked what she saw - he had certainly grown up into his body - but her mind hated to think about what he had gone through to become like this.

Without realising what she was doing, suddenly, her fingers were tracing the side of his hand. He jumped slightly at her touch, but didn’t shy away. His head turned to look at her, and she was sure there were questions in his eyes. She didn’t look at him. Instead, Annie picked up his hand and placed it in her lap.

Her fingers lay his flat, making a trail around the edges. She pressed lightly into the pads, where his fingerprints lay, and moved down, feeling out the bony structures. She moved to his palm, fingernail scratching lightly against the lines engraved there. Annie traced every blister, every callous that lined his palm, his finger, cataloguing them.

Annie saw his hands as the proof of his change. Armin’s hands used to be soft, softer than anything she had ever touched. It was only once that she had felt them back then, during some training exercise where she had flung out an arm to stop him from falling out of a tree and he had caught her hand with his own. They used to be unlined, unblistered, untouched, just like the hands of any scholar’s should be. 

But life had not been kind on the boy with the soft hands. No, life had forced him into a fighter, when she knew he so hated that role. He had become more like her, which broke her heart, because who wants to become a monster, take lives, and kill innocents?

“Sometimes…” 

His voice pulled Annie out of her reverie. His hand tightened around hers.

“Sometimes I wake up.... and I can’t breathe, because the feeling of my lungs burning with steam has overcome me.”

Annie looked at him. His head was bowed, bangs covering his eyes.

“And when that happens, I have to run to the shower because my skin will start to burn too. It’ll feel like it’s melting. And even if it’s the middle of winter, I have to sit under the ice-cold water for ages to make it go away, because I think I’m dying all over again. It’s weird… since I have no direct memory of the event actually happening, but I know that’s what it felt like when Bertholdt burnt me alive.”

His hand shifted, and he laced his fingers through hers. 

“I don’t think I had told you that before… it was happening, before you came… but you stopped it.”

That surprised her. Annie watched, as he raised his head again and met her eyes. Her breath caught when she saw the tears in his eyes.

“I-” he choked out, suddenly crying. “I’m scared. I don’t wanna go near those colossal titans. And- and it’s so hot inside _my_ titan, every time I transform it feels like I’m gonna die all over again and I don’t know- I don’t know if I can -”

Annie stopped his words by pulling him to her chest, arms encircling his body. Armin collapsed into her, shoulders shaking with sobs, cries that she knew had been pent up for hours. He trembled against her, and she ran her fingers through his hair, soothingly, until he stilled. 

Slowly, he pushed up off her, wiping his nose on his sleeve. 

“Sorry…” he whispered, glancing up at her shyly.

Annie stayed silent, just caught his cheek in her hand.

She was sick of leaving things unsaid, half-promises, and wondering what could have been.

So she tilted his face up to hers, and kissed him.

It took him a moment of shocked stillness, before he pushed back into her so eagerly she felt her back press into the bed. Not willing to let him take control, she placed her hand on his chest and shoved him down, leg swinging over so she straddled his lap. His hands framed her face, and he kissed her again, rushed, rough. 

Despite her initial vigour, she couldn’t bring herself to be rough, to be fast and in the moment. She wanted this to last. Pulling away, she shook her head at his inquisitive eyes. 

“I don’t… I want this to be…”

Annie struggled to find the words. But, like the genius he was, he understood. Slowly, gently, his hands rested on her shoulder and pulled her into him again. Their lips were unhurried this time, curious, exploring, jaws rolling smoothly together. She caught his bottom lip between his teeth, and pulled softly. A soft, breathy sound escaped his lips. 

Armin’s tongue probed at her lips, and she opened for him, allowing him to lick deliciously into her mouth. His hands slid down her back to rest at her hips, fingers squeezing ever so softly at the flesh there. Annie arched into him, pulling away from him for a second, only to return, pressing kisses to his jawline, his cheeks, his ears, before moving to his neck.

He tilted his head upward, exposing more skin, and moaned as she suckled softly at the skin there. She kept moving downward, fingers fumbling with his buttons, and his shirt came apart. Armin pulled it off, discarding on the floor somewhere. 

Annie could see the two tender, baby-pink circles where fresh skin had pulled over his bullet wounds - she had noticed it on his jaw too, but he had murmured that it didn’t hurt anymore when she hesitated - and, feather-light, brushed her lips over the spots. She felt him shudder at the sensation. Her lips explored his chest, licking over his chest, teeth grazing his nipples; all the while, he hissed through his teeth and whined in response to her ministrations. 

Soon, it became too hot in the little room, and Annie sat up, pulling her hoodie and shirt off over her head. Armin’s eyes widened as he saw her almost-bare torso, fingers reaching, but hesitating, to touch her. 

Annie just gave him the ghost of a smile, placed her hands over his, and guided them to her body. His hands ran over her hips, her stomach, before pausing at the wraps binding her chest. Armin looked up at her, a question in his eyes.

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” he asked.

“Yes,” she breathed urgently, starting to undo the binds herself before his hands closed over hers, replacing them and slowly unwrapping her. It fell, finally, and his breath caught. 

Annie couldn’t help but preen a little at his attention, arching her back, chest sticking out slightly. Armin’s hands slid up her body and came to rest on her breasts. He squeezed, eliciting a needy moan from Annie’s mouth, and he began to knead them softly, fingers rubbing circles around her nipples. In a mirror to her earlier actions, he leaned forward and caught one nipple between his teeth. Annie _whined_ as he sucked, progressively getting harder, other hand still working her other breast. He switched to the other breast, and Annie could have sworn she became slightly light headed from the pleasure of his lips and hands on her chest.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered against her skin, causing Annie’s face to redden and her to press a quick kiss to the crown of his head. 

Annie could feel Armin’s erection growing between his legs, and, curious, she shifted her hips to grind against it, causing a strangled moan to escape him. She kept moving, Armin’s hands resting on her hips, moving with her, cheek pressed against her chest, mouth huffing with pleasure. 

Suddenly, whatever it was that was growing tenser and tenser between them broke, and all previous thoughts about taking it slow were abandoned. 

Armin’s lips caught hers in a fierce kiss, sucking on her lower lip harshly. He flipped her around in one smooth movement, so her back pressed against the sheets of his bed. He placed hard, wet kisses down her torso, down her collarbone, the valley between her breasts, her stomach, before moving to the bones jutting out of her hips. 

The heat between Annie’s legs became almost unbearable, and she whimpered and squirmed, thighs rubbing together to try and relieve the pressure. Armin got the message, and hooked his fingers in her waistband, yanking her pants and underwear off clumsily. He did the same to himself, his hardened length springing free. 

And just as quickly as it had come, the searing heat of the moment passed. Armin hovered above her awkwardly, eyes wide with uncertainty. Annie felt a new sensation in her stomach as she eyed his erection - she was slightly nervous, never having done this before.

_Isn’t this supposed to hurt?_

“Uhm,” came Armin’s wavering voice. “I- I’m sorry, but I’ve never…”

“O-oh, never got yourself a little scout girlfriend after all these years?” Annie attempted to joke half-heartedly, earning herself a small chuckle and head shake from the boy. “Why don’t you start by… uh… touching me, down there, I mean?”

“O-ok.”

Annie shivered as she felt his fingers trace the outline of her lips, before dipping in gently. She couldn’t bring herself to feel embarrassed at how _wet_ she was, even after his breath caught and his eyes widened. 

Armin ran his fingers up and down her slit, and she jerked slightly as his thumb brushed over her clit. Then, one finger teased her entrance and slipped in. 

Annie gasped at the sudden stretch, but after a slight pause to check she was okay, he gently began to pump his finger in and out. The stinging sensation was slowly replaced by a feeling of growing pleasure, and she moaned aloud as he slipped a second finger in. 

He built her towards a climax, and just as she was about to peak, Annie egging him on with gasped encouragement, she felt his lips seal around her clit and _suck_. 

She shrieked, and came apart around him, the warmth from his tongue replacing his fingers as he licked her through her climax, lapping up her juices. 

When she came down, Armin pushed back up to her, pressing his lips against her, letting her taste herself on his tongue. After a few minutes of heavy breathing into his shoulder, Annie decided she was as ready as she’ll ever be. 

Locking eyes with him and nodding, he positioned himself, arms braced next to her head. She watched as he positioned himself, her breath catching as his head teased against her entrance. 

Slowly, excruciatingly, he eased himself in. Annie hissed through gritted teeth as the stinging stretch returned, but _more._

_It hurt._

But she persisted until he was all the way in, slapping a hand on his chest to prevent him from moving anymore as she got used to the feeling. Armin complied, his eyes half-lidded with lust, tongue caught between his teeth, a slow groan emitting from his chest. 

After a few seconds, she felt like she was used to the pressure, and nodded at him. Gently, he began to move. 

Gradually, the pressure was replaced by another pleasure growing in her gut. She began to moan, unable to hold back anymore, and, taking this as a good sign, Armin picked up his pace, half-strangled gasps leaving his mouth. 

“Fuck, Annie - _agh -_ you feel so - _ugh - fucking good!”_

The sound of the cursing, coming from _him, of all people,_ was so _hot_ it sent a bolt of pleasure down her chest into her stomach. Unable to form words, all she could do was cry out in ecstasy. 

Feeling herself reaching another peak, she wrapped her legs around his waist, trapping him in, and pressed her face into his shoulder. He pounded her harder, and finally, she broke, muffling her shriek into his skin, and he followed soon after, groaning and swearing incomprehensibly, warmth pooling into her stomach. 

They rode out their highs together, and lay, sweaty and panting, for a few minutes, just recovering. Annie squirmed slightly after a while, feeling hot, and Armin rolled off her, wrapping his arms around her torso. 

Annie glanced at him, but he looked knocked out. 

It was okay. Words could be for tomorrow, for when she would beg him to stay with her, to come back to her, lest she lose the only thing holding her together at this point. Tomorrow could be for those inescapable goodbyes. 

Instead, she relaxed into his grip, and let his warmth, and the swell of the waves rock her into oblivion. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i miss my babeys,,, 
> 
> idk how im gonna cope if anything happens to them in 139...
> 
> thanks for reading!! :))) <3


	6. Day Six - Sunlight

“Arrminn!”

The man in question jolted at his desk, disturbed from his doze by the carrying voice of his fiancée. 

Armin had been attempting to finish a report for his boss, but the sun had fallen _just right_ across his desk, and Armin couldn’t keep his eyes from drifting shut as he read and reread the same sentences over and over. As much as his marine biology job was a dream, even he couldn’t escape the menial task that was writing up safety reports for his boss to give to new trainees. 

“Armin!”

Armin groaned and attempted to stretch the sleepiness out of his bones.

“Coming!” he called.

He got up and made his way out of the study, thinking that Annie’s voice came from the kitchen. He was right, finding her leaning across the counter, back to him, swishing around a cup of tea in her hands. Armin walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her torso, placing a soft kiss on her cheek from behind. He saw her cheeks turn pink, and she hummed, twisting her head to plant a chaste kiss on his lips. Then, it was Armin’s turn to blush.

“Hey,” he mumbled, hiding his face in her shoulder. “What’s up?”

“Are you nearly done with your work stuff?” she asked, turning in his grip to face him, arms snaking around his neck. “I wanna do something.”

“Hmm? What do you wanna do?”

“It’s a surprise.” She smiled, and Armin could see that ‘ _I’m up to something’_ glint in her eyes. 

He frowned slightly, leaning forward and pressing his lips up against her. She was soft and pliant in his grip, arms tightening around his neck, smiling against his mouth and returning his kiss with enthusiasm. Their mouths lingered together, feeling each other’s breath on their skin, and Armin felt himself grin softly.

“Still a surprise?” he said, a teasing lilt to his tone. 

Annie chucked, fingers tracing a pattern lightly on his neck. “Nice try, but no.”

Armin rumbled deep in his throat, and his lips sought her skin again, this time pressing soft, open kisses against her neck. Annie giggled, pushing at his chest, ducking her head, trying to avoid his attack.

“Armin, come on...” she complained, catching his face in her hands, peering up at him. Armin pulled a face, pouting. 

“Try as you might, you’re not gonna get it out of me.”

Armin sighed in defeat, kissing her forehead. 

“Okay…” he murmured against her skin. “Just let me finish up this part of the report I’m working on, ‘kay?

She nodded, wiggling out of her grip, turning her attention to a new visitor to the kitchen. Their cat, Donut, mewed up at them both, snaking her fluffy body in between their legs. She nuzzled her head against Armin’s ankle.

Armin leaned down and scooped Donut into his arms, earning himself a small squeak from the cat. 

“Hey princess,” he crooned, pushing his face in her creamy fur. “Did we wake you up from a nap? Are you a good girl? Of course you are!”  
  


He spun around, swinging Donut with him. Annie would scoff, saying he was too soft for their pet, but Armin knew better. Annie _adored_ her, and Armin would catch her sneaking treats and scraps to her at dinner time, speaking to her in a silly, baby voice, and he occasionally saw her stretched out on the couch, Donut settled on her chest, napping. And Donut certainly had a preference for her favourite owner, proven when she squirmed out of Armin’s arms and darted to Annie, meowing as she rubbed against her legs. Armin didn’t mind though, finding the bond between the two adorable.

“Hey baby,” Annie whispered, kneeling down, fingers offered for the cat to sniff. She glanced up at Armin. “I thought you had a report to finish?”

“Ah, I guess if you want me gone that badly,” Armin said in mock distress, earning himself a scoff and shoo away. He pouted again. “And I thought _I_ was your baby…”

“Ugh, just go, you menace!”

Armin laughed, turning away to set off to the study again.

***

“Why the beach bag?”

Armin had found Annie in their bedroom, packing a large, stripey bag with some things after he finished the section of the report he was working on. 

“Part of the surprise,” she replied shortly. Armin probed no further, not wanting to push her into a bad mood with his questions. 

“Do you want me to do anything?” he inquired, leaning against the doorframe.

“Nah, just don’t get in the way, okay?”

“Okay.”

Armin decided the best place for him to not interrupt her packing was the bed, so he flopped down on it, stretching, his arms and legs splayed over the covers. He spotted Donut eyeing him from her cat bed in the corner of the room. Armin wiggled his fingers at her, making her pupils dilate and tail twitch. 

Armin felt himself dozing off again, until a sudden weight rested on his lap. He opened his eyes, seeing his fiancée straddling his waist. He smiled up at her, and she leaned down, kissing him. Armin hummed happily and tightened his arms around her, effectively trapping her on top of him. Their mouths moved against each other, unrushed, content to just savour each other’s taste. That was, until Annie began sucking on his neck harshly, causing him to groan, a _certain something_ in his pants waking up, twitching. 

“Annie,” he grunted, “I thought we had somewhere to go?”

She ignored him, fingers pulling at the hem of his sweater, hair hanging down and tickling his nose. He didn’t resist, arms raising, allowing her to pull the garment over his head, but he caught her face in his hands, making her pause.

“Annie?”

She stared at him with almost bored eyes, as if she was saying ‘ _What are you complaining about?’_

“There’s time,” she said, smirking as Armin squeaked when she pinched his exposed nipples. “Plus, you looked really hot laying there, so, it’s not really my fault, is it?”

“I mean, if you put it like that…” he mumbled, relenting, before tugging her face down to kiss her again passionately. 

It was slow, full of heated gazes, eye contact, and sensual breaths. They had time, after all. Armin never got tired of this part of their relationship. It was like she was _made_ for him; she never failed to make him feel like he was experiencing their first time together all over again. They would explore each other’s bodies, experimenting new things, trusting each other with their most vulnerable side. There was something incredible about knowing they had the rest of their lives laid out to experience it all, together. 

After they finished, Annie rested her head on his chest, their clothes strewn about, her fingers stroking over his slightly-sticky skin. She huffed.

“Now I’m gonna need a shower…”

Armin carded his fingers through her hair, content. He whined slightly as she made to get up off him, fingers tangling in her pale locks. 

“Hey,” she teased, drawing his eyes as she got to her feet and sauntered, body bare, to the bathroom. “Who said I had to go have one alone?”

Armin laughed, hand moving to rub at his face, before he jumped up and followed her.

_How on earth did I get so lucky?_

***  
  


Annie and Armin sat in their car, and as Annie drove, Armin watched the landscape roll past out the window. He had a sneaking suspicion as to where they were headed, but didn’t say anything in the want to go along with Annie's surprise. 

Soon, their surroundings became _very_ familiar, and Armin felt a huge grin stretch across his face. He turned to his partner.

“Annie…”

He kept grinning as they pulled into a _very familiar_ carpark. Armin hopped out, getting hit with a salty breeze that pushed the hair out of his eyes. As soon as Annie stepped out, he strode up to her and picked her up, spinning her around, laughing. She cried out in surprise, hands gripping his shoulders tightly. 

“Annie,” he set her down, wrapping her up in a hug, swaying them around as if they were slow dancing. “You _really_ didn’t have to do this.”

She smiled up at him. “But I wanted to, Armin.”

“Oh Annie,” he said, pressing butterfly kisses all over her face. “I love you!”

Annie pressed her face into his chest, ears turning red. He heard a muffled ‘ _I love you too’_ from his shirt. Planting another kiss to the top of her head, he pulled away.

“I assume you brought our swimmers?”

“Of course.”

They got themselves changed, and walked down the boardwalk’s stairs down to the shoreline, hand in hand. 

Armin wasn’t a stranger to beaches and the ocean. He was a marine biologist after all. But, he mostly worked in the open sea, scuba diving down into dark depths to collect samples for the lab. He held a soft spot for beaches, with them being the catalyst for his love of the ocean. 

But _this_ beach in particular was special, special to Annie and Armin especially. This was the beach they went to on their first date, where Armin realised she was _his person,_ the one he just _knew_ he would be spending the rest of his life with. This was the spot of their first kiss ( _which was on that first date, too),_ and the spot where Armin took her when he got down on one knee and asked her to be his life partner. And now here they were, laying their towels on the sand, rubbing sunscreen on each other’s backs.

As per their personal tradition, Armin picked Annie up, and dunked her into the water, holding onto her tight despite her squirms and protests. When she surfaced, she made her mock displeasure clear by picking up a handful of wet sand and rubbing it through his hair. That started a small war that consisted of salty water in the eye and wet sand slapped across the skin. Eventually, Armin backed down after narrowly avoiding a mouthful of sand, and they just relaxed in the water.

Annie floated over to him, the waves lapping over her shoulders, and pulled herself into his arms. Her chin rested on his shoulder. Armin began to talk to her, explaining some of the new findings they had made at his workplace, speculating about what he would find during his next dive. Annie just listened, humming occasionally to show she was listening to him. He knew she liked to hear him talk, and he was forever grateful that she was always willing to sit and smile fondly as he rambled on about whatever new thing had caught his attention.

After he had talked himself out and their fingertips began to wrinkle, Armin hoisted Annie into his grasp, and they made their way out of the water. He carried her over to their spot and set her down onto her towel. Following their usual beach routine, he settled next to her and they began to dig a trench in the sand. Sandcastles were their little guilty pleasure, and it was fun to just lose themselves to some of their more childish instincts and build a big castle, dig a trench around it, and decorate it with soggy seaweed and seashells. 

Placing a small stick to serve as a flag on the top of their tallest sand-tower, Armin turned to Annie, who pulled out some sandwiches and watermelon wrapped in plastic.The sun shone on them both, warming Armin’s skin, reflecting in Annie’s light steel-blue eyes. Something light and fuzzy swelled in Armin’s chest as he watched her. She was so beautiful, unwrapping their food with her tongue caught between her teeth, eyebrows crinkled as she concentrated on even that simple of a task.

If Armin was sure of anything in this world, it was that he was born to be gazing at his soon-to-be wife, feeling his heart burst with love as the sunlight glinted off the water droplets on her skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> something short and sweet for today's prompt!!
> 
> anyone remember donut from the [pawprints](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29828958/chapters/73460004#workskin) oneshot?
> 
> excited for today's episodes!
> 
> as always, thanks for reading! <3<3<3


	7. Day Seven - Birthday

Armin’s phone blared, alarm ringing throughout the room. He jolted, scrambling to turn it off, panic flaring in his chest. He silenced it, glancing at the sleeping form beside him. It shifted, a head of messy blonde hair emerging from the pile of blankets. Armin cursed inwardly. 

“What’s happening…?” Annie mumbled sleepily, yawning.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Armin said, scrambling to cover his blunder. “I forgot to turn it off, just go back to sleep baby.”

Luckily, Annie wasn’t one to question things when she was still half-asleep, so she just grumbled and disappeared under the covers again. Armin slumped on his pillow in relief. He waited until he was pretty sure she had fallen back asleep ( _ something like that never took too long with Annie, luckily),  _ before slipping out of bed. 

Armin held his breath as he passed their sleeping cat, hoping she didn’t wake and start meowing for food; many an attempt to sneak around the house in the middle of the night by both Armin and Annie, had been foiled by their furry companion. Luckily, she just made a ‘ _ mmrp’  _ sound and shifted in her bed. He slipped out the door and closed it quietly. 

He glanced at his phone. It was 5am, just enough time to get preparations ready. Today was a very special day, and Armin wanted it to be perfect. He had a plan, and he’d be damned if anything screwed it up.

Making his way to the kitchen, he pulled up the recipe on his phone that Reiner had sent him the other day. “ _ You won’t go wrong with this, she’s always loved it when we made it for her’,  _ the other man had told him, before slapping him on the back and assuring him that Annie would be happy with whatever he decided to do.

Moving around the kitchen as quietly as he could, cringing whenever a drawer closed a little too loudly, or the pans clanked against one another, Armin gathered ingredients. He preheated the oven, and was beginning to measure out ingredients, when he froze at the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway. Armin froze. Annie appeared in the doorway, hair mussed, with bags under her eyes. He must have presented as a strange sight; in his pyjamas, eggs in his hands, with various other ingredients around him as he appeared to be baking in the early hours of the morning. 

Annie’s hand paused in it’s attempt to flatten down a stray strand of hair. She stared at him; slightly widened eyes the only indicator of her shock at seeing him like this.

“What are you doing?”

Armin kept his mouth shut, brain running through all the possible excuses he could give for being caught like this. They all sucked. Instead, he just stared dumbly at the woman in the doorway.

“Armin.”

Her voice had taken on that ‘ _ don’t give me this crap’ _ kind of tone, and Armin swallowed. He closed his eyes for a moment, placed the eggs on the counter - making sure they didn’t roll and break all over the ground, of course - and made up his mind. There was no bullshitting Annie. He would just have to improvise now.

His plan was ruined, but he was still determined not to screw this up. It was her birthday, after all. 

Armin opened his eyes, straightened, brushed flour off his hands, and strode over to Annie. He pulled her into a tight hug, and she elicited a small surprised noise. He nuzzled into her hair, feeling quite calm all of a sudden. She relaxed into his grip, hugging him back.

He pulled back slightly and kissed her, rubbing his nose against hers.

“Happy Birthday, Annie,” he whispered, before smiling sheepishly and gesturing to the kitchen. “You caught me, I guess. See, I was trying to make a cake that Reiner said you really liked, but I guess I’m not very good at being quiet…”

Her suspicious look had been replaced by a soft smile. “I assume that was the reason for the alarm that went off?”

“Ah, yeah, I forgot to change it to something more… subtle.” He rubbed the back of his neck, face reddening. 

His heart skipped as she pulled him down into another kiss, before breaking off and hugging him tight. 

“Thank you, Armin. It really does mean a lot.”

“Of course,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead, “Anything for you on your special day, baby.”

Annie hummed happily, swaying slightly, then broke away from him and made her way into the kitchen. She tapped at Armin’s phone for a second, eyes lighting up when she saw the recipe he intended to make.

“I love this cake! Do you still wanna make it?” she asked excitedly, an eager look on her face.

Armin laughed, standing next to her and picking the eggs up again. “Of course, I wouldn’t have gotten up this early if I didn’t intend to go through with this, surprise ruined or not!”

What followed was a chaotic session of baking, filled with sneaked kisses, stolen batter, and flour ending up in places that it  _ probably  _ shouldn’t be. Armin would be needing a shower. Annie wasn’t much better off, having started their flour fight, and had her face and hair dusted with white powder. But eventually, the cake was poured into the tin and placed into the oven. Armin made sure to start a timer; there were a few incidents on his mind where they had gotten  _ slightly  _ distracted and only remembered about the food in the oven when smoke was billowing out of the kitchen and the fire alarm was blaring, much to their neighbours annoyance.

Meanwhile, Annie was yawning, so Armin scooped her into his arms; despite her protests, Armin was quite proud to have the privilege of being the only person who could carry Annie around without getting their ass kicked to the floor. He took her to the bedroom, being greeted by a curious meow from the cat, and tucking her back under the covers.

“Go back to sleep, I’ll take care of the cake okay?”

“Hmm,” she yawned, “As long as you wake me up for the icing…”

“What,” he scoffed mockingly, “And lose half of it into your stomach in the process?” 

She grumbled, and he didn’t manage to avoid her sharp slap to his rear as he turned to go back to the kitchen.

***

Annie did indeed ingest what he thought was a concerning amount of chocolate icing when he woke her up again a couple of hours later - the cake was thankfully unburnt - and they were now on their way to a cafe where he would be treating her to her favourite breakfast pancakes. 

Armin’s phone buzzed with a text. He glanced at it and grinned, typing a quick message back. At least  _ this  _ portion of the plan was going well. 

After inhaling what must have been  _ at least _ half of her body weight in fluffy pancakes saturated in cream and syrup, Annie and Armin took a walk around the park, arm-in-arm. He chatted aimlessly about some birds that twittered and flitted around the trees, and they watched on a bench as an older couple threw balls back and forth with their dogs, using those funny throwing claws. 

Noticing how Annie stared quite intensely at the couple, Armin nudged her. 

“You think we’ll end up like that, Annie?”

“Hmm? Well, would you like to?” she inquired, turning to face him.

Armin contemplated for a moment, before smiling at her. “I think that as long as I’m with you -” he leaned heavily against her, and she huffed and shifted to accommodate his weight “- I’m happy with whatever, y’know?”

Annie blushed and ducked her head, hiding in his shoulder. 

“You’re too soft,” she mumbled, “But... yeah, I think I’m the same. Growing old together seems pretty... neat. Minus the dogs, maybe.”

“Hmm, true, we could become that couple with a million cats.”

She laughed, and it was the most beautiful thing Armin had heard. 

“That wouldn’t be too bad, I think.”

Armin sighed happily, turning his face into her body, savouring her warmth. His phone buzzed, and he glanced at it, seeing the text he was waiting for. 

“Time to head back,” he said.

“Okay.”

They got up, hand-in-hand, and strolled leisurely back to their apartment block. 

***

“Surprise!!! Happy Birthday!!!”

A loud cheer met Annie and Armin as they opened the door to their apartment. Annie froze, face twisted with shock as she beheld the sight of their living room. 

Hitch and Reiner had certainly exceeded Armin’s expectations. The place was strewn with balloons inflated with helium, streamers, glitter, and a large banner that read ‘ _ Happy Birthday Annie!”  _ stretched across the wall. 

Armin guided the still stock-still Annie into the room, where a crowd of people enveloped them. All of their friends had come, all bearing gifts and various items of food for the surprise party Armin had organised. He knew she wasn’t a big fan of these types of things, but he had talked to all the guests, and they had agreed not to be too intense and give her space if she needed. He was glad he had done it though, as the shock on Annie’s face was fading into happiness as she was embraced by all of her friends. 

Hitch, Sasha, and Historia were squealing and jumping around; Mikasa and Ymir grasped her hands and smiled warmly; Jean, Marlowe, and Bertholdt gave her cautious, shy ( _ at least for the latter)  _ hugs; and Reiner, Eren, Connie, and Marco jumped on her, hugging her tightly and spinning her around. Reiner even gave his oldest friends a cheesy, sloppy kiss on the cheek, before turning his shit-eating grin to Armin after Annie shoved him off her. Armin just waved him off, chuckling. 

The group dispersed, placing their gifts into a pile in the corner of the room for opening later, and the party began. They sat around the living room and kitchen, chatting, exchanging stories, and catching up. Hitch pulled Annie away for some ‘private’ conversation about god knows what, and Armin sat with the other boys as they watched Sasha begin the process of consuming an ungodly amount of food that would make any other normal person throw their guts up three times over. 

A Mario Kart tournament was proposed, Annie and a satisfied-looking Hitch returned and agreed to start the Switch up. Soon, Armin had divided everyone into brackets, people were calling dibs on certain characters, and the hell that was Mario Kart with their group began. The cheers of exhilaration, yells of despair and frustration, and cursing of the AI and blue shells was a cacophony of chaos as the winners were celebrated and the losers were booed off the ‘player’s couch’. 

Soon, it became a four-way tournament between Armin, Annie, Ymir, and Marco, or Toad, Baby Mario, Baby Peach, and Koopa Troopa, respectively. It was tight, the four of them rarely leaving the top four places, but Eren whooped, Hitch screamed, Historia shrieked, and Jean yelled as Armin came out on top, followed by Annie, Marco, then Ymir. 

Armin was trying to avoid the faceful of chips that Eren was attempting to shove in his mouth as congratulations as the group celebrated and mourned. Annie grinned at him, a look in her eyes telling him she would get him back for beating her later on, in private.

“Smash Bros!” Jean yelled from Marco’s lap. A resounding cheer of approval followed.

Armin was shit at that game, so was knocked out early, but then it turned into a fierce battle between Mikasa and Annie. The room was tense with anticipation as they chose their characters; Wolf for Mikasa and Sheik for Annie. People were betting their chips on the winner, and the room grew silent as the announcer counted down ‘ _ Three, two, one, fight!’.  _ Buttons were mashed furiously as the two girls went head to head, and the room exploded in cheers. 

It was tight,  _ ridiculously tight;  _ Mikasa and Annie seemed to be at equal skill with both of their characters. Finally, they got down to one stock each, and it seemed it could go either way.

“Come on Mika!!” Eren cried out.

“You can do it Annie,” Armin yelled, caught up in the fight.

The room went silent as the announcer yelled ‘ _ Game!’.  _ A few seconds passed, before the room erupted in cheers. Armin jumped up, beaming, and picked Annie up in a massive hug, spinning her around and planting kisses all over her face. He knew the others were taking pictures, but he didn’t care; his girlfriend had just beaten all their friends in Smash, they were all high on sugar and probably slightly drunk from the alcohol Eren had brought, and he was so in love with her, it almost hurt.

***

Things calmed down slightly after that, Mikasa promising Annie a rematch on Smash one day, and the group alternated by messing around on the Switch and playing Cards Against Humanity.

After the hours passed, the cake was brought out in all it’s decorated glory; Armin could thank Historia and Sasha for ‘beautifying’ the cake, as they called it. Lights were turned off as candles lit, an awful, off-key rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ was sung, and Annie was swarmed with hugs as she blew out the candles and made a wish. 

Night fell as they ate cake, and things truly settled down as everyone gathered around the TV to watch Annie’s favourite Disney movie and guilty pleasure - Tangled. What followed was a slightly chaotic sing along to the movie - Historia was a  _ killer  _ Rapunzel, and Connie impressed everyone by soloing all the different characters during ‘ _ I’ve Got A Dream’  _ with surprising accuracy -, but Hitch insisted on having Annie and Armin sing ‘ _ I See The Light’  _ on their own together; Armin barely held it together by focusing only on Annie’s eyes, and managed to lose himself in them. He could tell from Reiner’s snickers afterwards that the whole thing had been caught on video and would be used as blackmail material for them both.

Armin didn’t mind though, snuggled up with the birthday girl on their couch, blanket strewn over them both. Things had wound down well and truly, some people had left already, the rest staying over, having brought sleeping bags and pyjamas in preparation. He wrapped Annie up in his arms, curling around her completely. Sometimes she liked to be cuddled like this, just getting swallowed up by his warmth, and Armin was more than happy to comply. 

“Hey, Armin,” she murmured sleepily.

He nuzzled her hair. “Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

She hummed happily, lacing their fingers together.

“Happy birthday, Annie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy birthday to my most favourite girl! <3<3<3
> 
> i had a blast writing for this week, hope you all enjoyed!
> 
> check out my [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bitterepiphany) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/bitterepiphany) if you'd like. i take requests!
> 
> thank you so much for reading!!


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